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AN 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION 



BY 



CALEB riTWATER, A. M. 

AUTHOR OF WESTERN ANTIQUITIES, TOUR TO PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, 
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO, ETC. ETC. 



STEREOTYPED BY SHEPARD & STEARNS. 



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' CINCINNATI: 

PRINTED BY KENDALL & HENRY. 

1841. 



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Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred' anJ 

forty-one, by Caleb Atwateb, in the Clerk's Office of the 

District Court of Ohio. 



DEDICATION 



> 



J 



TO THE 

PARENTS, GUARDIANS, AND INSTRUCTERS OF YOUTH, 

IN THE UNITED STATES, 

TfflS ESSAY IS KESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 

BT THEIR FaiEND AlfD FEtlOW-CITIZEK, 

THE AUTHOR. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Preface, 5 

Introduction, 9 

Chapter I., 15 

Phj'sical Education, 18 

Mental Education, • .... 19 

Moral Education, 24 

Chapter II., 

Female Education, 38 

Fashionable Female Education, 39 

What Female Education should be, 39 

Female Fanatics, 45 

True Religion, 46 

Chapter III., 

A Dandy, 48 

A worthy, well educated Young Man 50 

Chapter IV., 

Instructers, 57 

Their Qualifications, 59 

A Clergyman, 66 

A Lawyer, • . 68 

A Physician, 69 

Chapter V., 
Books, .... ....... 70 

Those which we need, .74 

Chapter VI., 
Female Manners in the North, and the Influence of our Women on 
Politics, Morals and Religion, 87 

Chapter VII., 
The necessity of Education, arising from the tendency of this age to 
innovation and change; from the peculiar character of the people 
of the Western States, their youth, activity and energy, consisting 
of emigrants from the older States, and from Europe — the vast 
domain to be filled up with people, in a short period of time, and 
the ultimate grandeur and glory of this Republic, provided its 
citizens are all well educated, .....»• 99 



PREFACE 



It has long been my intention to publish an essay on educa- 
tion, as my last work. In the meantime, men of learning have 
been engaged, from the most disinterested motives, in the same 
field. They have done much good, for which they have received 
the thanks of every true friend of our common country. This 
essay will not, nor is it intended, to supersede the use of what 
others have heretofore published on the same subject. But, 
although all that has been published on education is valuable, 
yet the whole mass is too voluminous for common readers. A 
condensation of much that has appeared into a small space, 
seemed to the author to be a desideratum, and that is all that 
this small volume pretends to be. It has been my object to 
condense as much useful matter as possible into a small com- 
pass, adapting it to the age in which we live, and to the repub- 
lican institutions of our country. 

It is quite common for authors to name the authorities from 
which they have drawn their information. Having read almost 
every work on education as soon as it was published, during 
the last forty years, I have not retained the books themselves, 
nor any extracts from them. Having thrown the ingredients 
into my own mental crucible, I have, from the liquid mass, 
produced this essay. Where I have quoted any author, I may 
not have used his precise words, and, in other instances, the 
words of an author may have been used without my recollecting 



VI PREFACE. 

him, or knowing when I have used his language. My object 
has been to do good — to disseminate useful truths, and sound 
literary, political, moral and religious doctrines. How far I 
have done so, is left to the judgment of the public. 

Having long been patronized liberally as an author, by the 
people of the West ; and knowing that, in a few short years, my 
race will be run ; and hoping, too, that all my old patrons will 
at le*st read what may be my last volume, relating to a matter 
of the greatest importance to the people of this country ; all 
these considerations united, are my inducements for producing 
and publishing this work. Public opinion governs the civilized 
world, not the puny party politician, whose frail bark floats a 
brief space of time upon the surface of the foaming billows, 
until it is dashed into fragments and disappears from our sight. 
To enlighten that public opinion, and direct it to proper objects, 
is the duty of every friend of human happiness. To resist the 
onward movement of the human mind is impossible. It always 
has moved forward as a great whole, and it always will move 
in the same direction, to its ultimate triumph over ignorance, 
vice and crime. History teaches us this truth, our own expe- 
rience confirms it, and the Divine Being has promised his aid in 
accomplishing, through human means, the certain and glorious 
destiny of man. 

Our free form of government, our vast domain, our means of 
instruction, our benevolent institutions, our pure religion, our 
love of liberty, the example of our ancesters and the high aspi- 
rations of their posterity ; our distance from the old world, our 
soil, climate and productions, and the energy and sleepless 
enterprise of the American people ; seem to promise the world 
that this nation is to be the greatest and the most powerful one 



PREFACE. VII 

on earth. To its vast numbers, wealth and physical power, 
may its moral power be as vast, benevolent and good. But, if 
our free institutions must perish, through our suicidal neglect 
of education, may the day of their death be hidden from my 
eyes, by that God who has been our cloud by day and a pillar 
of fire by night, during our entire national existence. 

I see before me, in the harvest-field, the Pickets, father and 
son. Dr. Beecher and Professor Stowe, Dr. Aydelotte and Pro- 
fessors Ray, Mansfield, Walker, Eells, Hamline, Purcell, 
Montgomery, and a long line of reapers, with their sickles, 
cutting the grain, and joyfully binding the sheaves and bearing 
them home. I take my place behind them all, and ply my 
sickle in the same vast field. If my through is a narrow one, 
I have endeavored to cut clean where I have reaped, and I have 
laid down the grain carefully, so that none of it shall be lost 
through my unskilfulness and neglect. When those who are 
ahead of me shall stop a moment to take breath, and look back 
^nd see me behind them, I shall expect them to smile, and not 
frown upon me, who with unequal steps and slow, am follow- 
ing them. While they continue to move forward, running a 
race, I do not expect to overtake them, but I hope to be able to 
keep in sight of them, though I shall be the very last reaper to 
get through the field. Those before me reap and bind as they 
move forward, but I leave my grain to be bound and carried ofi' 
the field by others. I have cut and bound the tares into bundles 
and have prepared them to be burnt on the stubble-field, aftei 
the wheat is safely housed. 

CALEB ATWATER. 

Galt House, Cincinnati,^ 
January 1, 1841. 3 



INTRODUCTION 

We, Americans, have been taught from our infancy to 
love our country, as the seat of liberty and laws, under a 
mild and happy form of government. The ends for which 
men unite in society, are, to enjoy security for their pro- 
perty, freedom for their persons, and protection in all their 
inalienable rights, from force and violence either domestic 
or foreign. Our form of government presupposes that we 
have a right to manage our affairs in our own way so long 
as we injure no one; and we may think as we please, and 
maintain our opinions orally or through the press without 
restraint, so long as we injure no one's reputation or pro- 
perty. The more completely these ends are answered, 
with the least diminution of personal liberty, at the least 
expense of time and money, to the individuals of any na- 
tion, the more perfect is any form of government. Abso- 
lute perfection, in any thing human, is not to be expected, 
because it no where exists on earth. 

During the entire period of time which the first six Pre- 
sidents of the United States occupied and adorned their 
high stations, under this government, we may justly chal- 
lenge all the historians and annalists of all other countries, 
in any age, to produce any other example, of such a mul- 
titude of people, as the American people, held together by 
so few restraints; with the enjoyment of so much liberty; 
so prosperous, at home and abroad, conquering the forests, 
building up towns, villages and cities; making roads and 
canals, whitening every sea, lake and ocean, with our can- 
vass, and visiting with our vessels, every port in the world; 
and thus extending our commerce, multiplying our manu- 
factories and improving our agriculture. The arts were 
fostered and our people were happy. Under the auspi- 
cious rule of our first six Presidents, dl the advantages to 
be derived from any human government were fully enjoy- 
ed by all our citizens. 

2 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

On the exercise of any honest and honorable talent no 
restraint was laid; no odious distinctions between the rich 
and the poor were made; no exclusive privileges were pos- 
sessed by the former to the injury of the latter, but merit 
in every walk of life, had the freest scope. A vast num- 
ber of examples were every where seen, of persons rising 
by their talents, from the very humblest walks of life to 
the very highest distinction and eminence. 

Such happiness, prosperity and success, had their origin 
in the pure patriotism, intelligence and virtue of our rulers, 
and of our whole people. Vice, and all iniquity were ab- 
horred; virtue, honesty, sobriety, and ■ industry, were es- 
teemed and honored. In those palmy days of this republic 
every man came forward and acted his part with vigor 
and energy; and, by the exercise of his talents, if prosper- 
ous, rose to the heights of wealth, learning or power. The 
people of Europe gazed with wonder on our prosperity, 
our increase in numbers, wealth azid power, under a form 
of government so free from personal restraints, so cheaply 
administered, and yet, possessing an energy which enabled 
its people to repel all foreign invasion, and suppress all 
internal commotions. During the first forty years of our 
existence as a nation, under our pi'esent constitution, we 
passed through peace and war, generally healthful, except 
in our new settlements, though sickness sometimes raged 
in our eastern cities. We had, as many of our older peo- 
ple boasted, been tried in all situations and circumstances, 
and our ship of state had weathered every tempest, and it 
had ridden out every storm in safety. 

At the time when our nation began its existence, nearly 
all the Monarchists of Europe gave it as their opinion, that 
of all the forms of government on earth, the republican 
form was the worst for those who live under it. 

In a small state like that of San Marino, where the whole 
people resembled only a large family, they admitted the 
mere possibility of its existence and permanency, but for 
a people occupying a vast, widespread domain, they de- 
nied the feasibility of maintaining such a government for 
any length of time, and the possibility of its conferring 
happiness on any portion of the people who lived under 
its sway. In such a country as this, so large, occupied by 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

people of different fortunes, different tastes, different opin- 
ions on religion, civil policy, science, literature, and almost 
every other subject, the writers of Europe could not see 
how we could get along without an established church, an 
aristocracy, and a king! These writers declared openly, 
that in such a country, governed as we were, there always 
had been, and there always would be a constant contest 
between the rich and the poor, the oligarchy and the mob 
— between a few popular demagogues, who aspire to do- 
minion, and an unruly multitude who set all wholesome 
restraints at defiance. In such states such an internal 
warfare, they said, had almost always been carried on, 
attended by violent convulsions and party animosities, 
which produced more misery than any other form of gov- 
ernment. They said it was to no purpose for us to quote 
the heroes of Greece and Rome. Amidst such turbulence, 
agitations and commotions, occasions might happen, they 
said, which would produce men who would shine with un- 
fading brilliancy; but, notwithstanding a few such shining 
examples, the great mass of the people were truly misera- 
ble. These writers declared it as their opinion, that even 
the most cruel despotism was preferable to a Republic, 
because, although the few men near the throne, under a 
despotism, naight suffer from the capricious cruelty of the 
reigning tyrant, yet the great mass of the common people 
at a distance from the throne, were left unmolested, to 
pursue their several employments in peace and safety; 
whereas in a popular government the great host of rulers 
of all sorts, more extensively oppressed the whole mass of 
the common people — penetrated into the interior of fami- 
lies, and this republican oppression and cruelty reached 
the humble and obscure as severely as it did the rich and 
exalted, under the most cruel and unrelenting despotism. 

Such were our prosperity and success as a nation during 
the first forty years of our existence, under our present 
constitution, and such, in substance, were the predictions 
of nearly all the European writers, whose opinions of us 
and our institutions have reached us. 

But at the end of this happy and prosperous period, a 
change for the worse was suddenly effected; it seemed as 
if all the very fountain heads of liberty were poisoned. 



1 2 INTRODUCTION. 

The evils of which we now complain are an uUraism, by 
which demagogues deceive the people, inflame the public 
mind, and lead astray a generous, brave and confiding 
nation. These evils extend themselves even beyond their 
common political limits. They extend their baleful influ- 
ence into families, they destroy men's private fortunes, 
ruin them in all their lawful pursuits, and pervert all the 
ends of good government. These evils are exemplified in 
the diminished respect of children for their parents; in the 
loose discipline of families and schools; in the declining 
respect of youth for age; in the low estimation in which 
learning, talents and genius are held; in the excitement 
of the poor against the rich; the country people against 
those who live in villages, towns and cities; and in array- 
ing one section of the Union against other sections; state 
against state, town against town: and, in embroiling the 
whole community about the fitness of candidates for offi- 
ces, not one of whom, perhaps, is fit for the station to 
which he aspires. During the last ten years, the wisdom 
of the country has been induced to stand back from po- 
litical afiairs, because all good men saw nothing but con- 
tests for offices among worthless men. This view of the 
subject prevented the very best men in the country from 
taking an interest in results, which at best was a choice, 
and a poor choice, among evils. Our object in this essay 
is, to bring all good men back into the arena, to take their 
places in the ranks of the common people, and do their 
duty and never despair of the Republic; but, by their pre- 
cepts, example and influence, save this generation from 
destruction, and raise up a wiser one, to govern this coun- 
try, and hand down all our valuable institutions from age 
to age forever. To effect this object, universal education 
is the only remedy, in a country governed by the whole 
people. On the very brink of political and moral ruin, as 
a free people, once moral, patriotic and quite too confiding, 
all hearts are imperiously called on to unite in the commoa 
cause for the common safety. We cannot expect to be 
saved as a people, by a miracle. Our destiny is in our 
own hands, and if we will neglect to do our duty, we can- 
not expect that He who governs the world will reverse ^1 
his laws, to save our Republic from ruin. The histories 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

of all former, free nations, are but so many flaming torch- 
es which light us to the mouldering tombs of freedom. 
Shall we basely surrender our birthright? Have we paid 
the debt which we owe to our ancestors? Is our debt to 
our posterity paid? What will they say of us, if we neg- 
lect our duty to them? Loaded with chains and bowed 
down in slavery, will they not curse us for our neglect, 
our pusillanimous neglect of our duty to ourselves, to them, 
to our country and our God? Can freedom long dwell 
where ignorance and vice prevail? No, she will not, can- 
not tarry in such company. Her last footsteps may be 
tinged with blood, on every hill and plain of our country ,^ 
but unless intelligence, virtue and patriotism constantly 
associate with her as inseparable companions, her flight 
will be from earth to heaven. 

Extinguish the lamp of freedom in our country, and all 
the lights of liberty now burning in Europe, may also be 
immediately extinguished on that continent. 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 



CHAPTER I. 

Education is the development of all the powers of our / 
bodies and all the faculties of our minds. 'Man is a three- 
fold being — physical, mental and moral. To develop the 
whole man, to fit him to be happy himself, and to diffusei 
all around him as much happiness as he is capable of diff 
fusing, is the proper business of education. Man is an 
immortal being, placed here for a short period, in a state 
of preparation for an eternity of weal or wo beyond the 
grave. He is a social being, and owes duties to his fellow- 
men — his parents, children, brothers, sisters, friends, and 
all mankind. He is a dependent being — on his Creator 
for his existence; on his parents, guardians and friends for 
his education/ His nature, then, is three-fold — physical, 
mental and moral ; and/ft is the business of education to 
develop all his powers, and teach him to perform, and how 
to perform, all his duties as a dependent, social, physical, 
mental and moral being. Education is necessary for man, 
inasmuch as without it, he is the most helpless, and even 
the most useless animal in the world. When first born, 
he can neither walk one step, nor speak one word; yet 
this same helpless, feeble, dependent being, after having 
been nursed and nourished by his mother — after having 
grown up and been educated, can visit in person every 
portion of this globe of earth and water. Properly edu- 
cated, he can walk abroad and every where behold and 
feel the beauty or the grandeur and sublimity of nature. 
He can move over the plain, and behold the waving har- 
vest, the verdant meadow, the luxuriant orchard, the gar- 
den, the grass plat, the cultivated field, the farm-house and 
the forest. He can ascend the mountain, and from its 
summit look down on the far distant river, winding its 
devious way along its banks, until it descends into some 



16 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

lake or ocean. He sees the landscape diversified by hill 
and dale, copsewood and forest. Or he stands entranced, 
looking down on some boundless prairie or boundless lake, 
sea or ocean. Such is the natural world, presenting the 
self-same aspect to savage and sage, pagan and christian, 
whether old or young; but how different are the sensa- 
tions which are produced by beholding the same objects 
in different minds! This difference is owing, mostly, to 
the different degrees of mental and moral culture of those 
who behold the same objects. Even the savage who has 
arrived at a mature age, who has been properly taught, 
sees what he believes was created by the Great Spirit; 
but how feeble and few are his ideas, on the occasion, 
compared with those of a Newton! The savage can look 
up to the starry heavens, admire the beauty, wonder at 
the sublimity, and adore the Author of all he sees; but 
Newton could calculate our distance from the sun, and 
from every planet. He could foretell, to a moment, a new 
moon, or an eclipse of the sun or the moon, not merely 
for a year, but for millions of years yet to come. He 
could calculate the periodical returns of all the planets. 
He discovered all the laws by which all the planets are 
held in their orbits and are moved around the sun. He 
could travel back, down the long lapse of ages past, through 
the aid of history, and correct our chronology, so as to 
clear up all the doubts of the incredulous, as to the times 
of certain great events happening on our globe. Although 
the savage is greatly educated in the arts of warfare, of 
fishing and the chase; yet what is his education, compared 
with his, who uses the printing press, the steam engine, 
the telescope, the compass, the axe, the hammer, the saw, 
the plane, the auger, the screw, the wheel, the loom, the 
mill, the plow, the harrow, and all the machinery moved 
by steam, by water or by air? Admirable as all these 
things are, who would compare them with the sublimities 
and beauties of the moral world? Is not the soul with its 
capacities for eternal happiness, and its glorious destiny, 
more awful and sublime than all the beauties and sublimi- 
ties of the natural world? Is not the soul with its thoughts 
that w-ander through the universe and through eternity; 
its intellectual wealth and power, more valuable than all 



Essay on education. IT 

this world of land and water, hill and dale, pond, lake, sea 
and ocean? Can the richest scenery of the landscape ri- 
val the heart in its purity and in the pathos of its aflections? 
The same God who made the landscape, created the world 
of man. Looking on all the beauties and sublimities of 
this lower creation, and listening to all the sounds sent 
forth by babbling brook or thundering cataract; by sing- 
ing birds or musical man, what are they all but manifesta- 
tions of His wisdom, goodness and power, who created 
all things and governs the universe? What are all these 
things but so many volumes, forever speaking to the eye 
and ear of man? 

What are all the objects that we behold, the sunny plain, 
the breezy hill, the lofty mountain, the boundless pi'airie, 
and the boundless ocean, the prattling rill, and the madly 
rushing cataract, the lofty and wide-spread heavens, the 
smiling village and the crowded city — what are all these 
objects, we say, but faint images, yes, faint and imperfect 
images of the attributes of the incomprehensible Creator? 
- And what are the mind, the soul, the heart of man but 
"the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the dwelling place of 
Him who inhabiteth eternity?" How then can we com- 
pare the world of nature with the world of man? the won- 
ders of nature with those of grace? the outward works of 
creation with the inward works of grace and mercy on 
the heart, the mind, the soul of man? 

Man is represented to us by God himself as a fallen 
being, fallen from a state a little lower than the angels; 
and, as the very image of his Creator, to a state of moral 
degradation, beneath even the vilest animal of this lower 
creation. All history and our own experience confirm 
and fully prove the truth of this sad account of our fallen 
condition. How to develop all the powers of such a com- 
plex, fallen, dependent, social and immortal being, and 
restore him to his original purity and prepare him to be a 
blessing to himself, his friends, his country, and the world 
at large; and to prepare him for his high destiny in the 
realms of bliss, beyond the grave, is the business of edu- 
cation. 

Having made these preliminary remarks, we proceed, 
3 



18 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

as briefly as possible, on so vast a subject, to consider what 
we ought to do to effect an object of such infinite impor- 
tance. We shall endeavor, as we proceed, to point out 
some of the great and awful defects in the education of 
our youth, and hint at the remedies which should be ap- 
plied to cure what may be called a national disease. 

First, then, man is a physical being. To develop all 
his natural, bodily powers, and bring them to maturity, 
requires proper food, nutricious, yet easy of digestion — or, 
his mother's milk. He requires pure air, proper clothes, 
and suitable exercise. He requires kind treatment, and 
the fond caresses of his parents. He who created the 
parent and his offspring, has implanted in the breasts of 
both the disposition to give and receive that kind of treat- 
ment most proper for both to render and enjoy to make 
them happy. As the child comes forward, and goes to 
school, every thing should be done to render his situation 
agreeable and happy at school. He should be brought 
along by degrees, as his strength of body and mind can 
bear it. Intense and long continued study pales the cheek, 
dims the eye and melts down the mind into a liquid mass. 
In such a case, what is the school-room but a mere prison, 
and the whole system of education but one of mental tor- 
ture? In that case, when fatigue, inattention to study, 
listlessness and languor are apparent to the teacher, the 
pupil should be permitted to exercise a few minutes only 
m the open air. A drink of pure water, and the applica- 
tion of some of it to the hands and face, will prepare the 
scholar for entering on some new study, or the resumption 
of the task which was left unfinished. Thus new life and 
new vigor will be infused into the whole system of mind 
and body. Long-continued and severe bodily exercise, 
at play, is equally pernicious as long-continued study, and 
both should be equally avoided. These matters belong to 
the teacher, who has the student under his eye, and they 
must be left to the discretion of the instructor. Where 
children are permitted to play one hour at any one time 
in a day, they learn no good in that day. This we well 
know. But we need say little on this branch of our sub- 
ject, because our object is, not so much to find fault with 
parents and teachers of all kinds, relative to the physical. 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 19 

as to the mental and moral education of the present gen- 
eration. And, besides, whole volumes written on the 
health and diseases of children; how to preserve the one 
and heal the other, are within the reach of all, who wish 
to consult them. 

We pass on to the second part of our subject: — 

MENTAL EDUCATION. 

This should be various, interesting and valuable; such 
as will invigorate and enlarge the mind, and strengthen 
the memory. It should store the memory with good pre- 
cepts, apt illustrations and striking allusions. It should 
expand and elevate the sense of duty, refine and purify- 
all the affections of our nature. We should study know- 
ledge, not so much for the sake of remembering it, as for 
the sake of applying all the principles necessarily involved 
in it. We should not only treasure up a great many use- 
ful facts, but having developed them fully in all their rela- 
tions, they should enter into the very structure of our 
minds, and become a part of the mind itself. These facts, 
thus treasured up, would enhance the faculty of thinking, 
improve the discipline of the intellectual powers, and en- 
large the mind itself. Thus educated, every man and 
woman in our country might not have the opportunity, 
the time and the means of becoming very learned, but 
they might have real wisdom and skill, and no inconsider- 
able share of intellectual power. A profusion of learning, 
without order or method, may hang loosely about a per- 
son, like the drapery thrown over a marble statue : but 
give us a mind which is master of its knowledge; that en- 
ters into its very essence, and forms a part of the mind 
itself. '^Education should be such, that it should be not a 
mere mirror, reflecting its own image, but a crucible, that 
melts down, decomposes and forms anew all its materials 
into other beautiful and useful forms. 

And here we stop, by the way, to say, that we have in 
Ohio, several hundreds of teachers, of both sexes, who pur- 
sue methods of instruction, well calculated to produce all 
the effects which we have been recommending. 

From what we have said already on this subject, it will 



20 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

be seen, that by education we mean that discipline and 
instruction, which commences in the cradie, and ends only 
in the grave. It is the education of circumstances, which 
is constantly, though sometimes almost imperceptibly, go- 
ing on, in and around us; at home, abroad, while we are 
alone, in a crowd, at our tables, in our counting rooms, in 
our study, in the street, at the fire-side, at church, or in 
whatever place we are; superadded to the discipline which 
the mind is subjected to, in literary or scientific pursuits, 
whether they refer to the lower studies, such as reading, 
writing, grammar and arithmetic, or to the higher ones, 
such as the mathematics, the classics, and the more eleva- 
ted ones, such as the physical sciences, the exact sciences, 
and morals. All these, correctly and thoroughly pursued, 
under propitious circumstances, impart to the intellectual 
and moral faculties strength, correctness and elegance. In 
this broad view of the subject, we are all scholars, all our 
lives, and we are either preparing ourselves for entering 
into the society of just men made perfect above, or we 
are preparing ourselves for joining the vast assemblage of 
those who reject their God, their Saviour, and all good- 
ness. Having taken this broad, though comprehensive 
view of education, we now proceed to point out some few, 
though awful defects as we believe, in our system of edu- 
cation, mental and moral, now, and for many years past, 
quite too prevalent in our country — our whole country. 
But although there are many and great defects in our men- 
tal education, yet the greatest and most appalling dele2t 
has been, and is now, in our setting a higher value on men- 
tal than on moral instruction. The cultivation of the 
moral faculties has been neglected more than the mental 
faculties. 

DEFECTS IN MENTAL EDUCATION. 

One defect in mental education exists, in passing through 
studies without thoroughly fixing in the mind all the im- 
portant ideas belonging to such studies. One wretched 
pretender follows another, over our country, offering to 
teach writing, reading, arithmetic, book-keeping and gram- 
mar in a few lessons! Even those teachers who are in 



xssay on education. 21 

some sort located among us, teach their scholars, like par- 
rots, to repeat answers to a number of questions. The end 
of the term arrives; the questions are asked; the pupil, 
parrot-like, answers them; medals and ribbons are distribu- 
ted; a display is made; the parents are enraptured; the 
pupil's vanity is flattered; but, in one short month's space, 
all the knowledge acquired at school is gone, and gone 
forever. 

A great improvement in our system of education, as it 
respects both the physical and mental education of our 
children and youth, might be made by introducing into 
every school in our country the study and practice of vo- 
cal music. It is not, but it certninly ought to be, consid- 
ered as a necessary branch of education, and as such, 
studied and practiced daily, in every school in all the land. 

JMr. Salomon, the principal of the German Immigrant 
Friend's Society school, has introduced this branch of 
education into his school of two hundred children, at Cin- 
cinnati. His school is commenced and concluded by sing- 
ing in German and English a verse or two of some hymn, 
after having first repeated, audibly and distinctly, the Lord's 
prayer. All the scholars stand up, the teacher pointing 
with a long staff' to the gammut, or notes of music, plainly 
printed on the ceiling or a board, which is in lull view of 
every scholar. There also are several full tunes printed 
on the same board. The teacher sounds the proper note, 
at which he points, and every pupil follows the instructer, 
singing through the eight notes backwards and forwards, 
until ho strikes off into some tune, which is sung, first by 
note, then by the words set to it. This exercise having 
occupied but a few minutes, in the morning, the pupils 
all go to their several studies, but as soon as the teacher 
discovers that listlessness and languor prevail, calling them 
off from their several pursuits, he rises, and his staff points 
to the gammut board again. All the pupils arise at once 
upon their feet. The eight notes are sung, and soon two 
hundred voices are heard, singing with cheerfulness, life 
and glee — " Germany, sweet Germany," or some other 
song, that re-animates every soul, crimsons every cheek, 
and lights up every little sparkling eye in the school-room. 
In this way, new life is infused into the whole school. All 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 



return to their several studies again, and continue on for 
a long time, perhaps until their labors fatigue them, when 
they are permitted to go out into the open air, wash their 
faces and hands, and drink a cooling draught of pure water. 
They then return to their labors with renewed vigor and 
successful application. 

Besides the re-animating effects of singing, such as we 
have described, the practice of vocal music strengthens 
the lungs. Dr. Rush, somewhere in his essays, we believe, 
says that one reason why the Germans are so seldom af- 
flicted with pulmonary complaints, is owing, in a measure, 
to their study and practice of vocal music; these being 
universal, prove a universal antidote, among that people, 
to that appalling disease. 

The neglect of this branch of study in our schools, we 
set down as a great defect in our system of education in 
this country. Some persons appear to doubt whether all 
children can learn to sing. If their physical, mental and 
moral faculties are good, there is no difficulty in the way 
of teaching them this art. If their hearing is good and 
correct; their organs of speech perfect, and if they are in 
good bodily health, they certainly can easily learn to sing. 
Let us consider, for a moment, what is required of a child 
to enable it to learn vocal music. First, the pupil must 
learn his letters and the characters used in music — 2ndly, 
he must learn to sound the musical notes, high or low, soft 
or harsh, swift or slow, long or short. And 3dly, he must 
learn to keep time. And is this, all this, more than is re- 
quired of him, to learn to be a good reader, or a good 
speaker? Certainly not. Whoever tried to learn to sing, 
under a good teacher, that did not succeed in learning 
music? None. 

If education be the development of all the powers of 
our bodies and all the faculties of our minds, musical pow- 
ers being one of them, they must be improved and devel- 
oped, by studying its theory and practising on its principles. 
Are there any powers or faculties given to us in vain? We 
say no. Then we should all learn and practice vocal 
music in early life. Provided we learn and practice it as 
a relaxation from severer studies, and as an innocent and 
elegant amusement, it is highly to be prised. But it rises 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 23 

in dignity still higher, when we consider its benevolent 
effects on the mind, the heart and the soul of man. It 
softens care, enlivens mirth, lulls the angry passions into 
rest, awakens all our sympathies towards those who suffer 
pain, either physical, mental or moral, and it tunes into 
harmony and love every discordant feeling. It can enno- 
ble, dignify and exalt into ecstasy, almost divine, all our 
moral feelings. It can raise all our desires from earth to 
heaven, and transport us, in ail our feelings, so that our 
souls can join that high, holy, happy, and innumerable 
throng of saints and angels, who, with their golden harps 
and heavenly voices, continually sing the praises of God 
and of the Lamb, that was slain for us. And whoever is 
learning to sing such praises on earth, is preparing him- 
self, when his heart and flesh fail him, and he sinks into 
the grave, to join that happy throng around the throne of 
God in heaven, where sorrow never comes nor joy departs 
from them. 

Let us consider for a moment, what the consequences 
may be, if we neglect to teach our children to sing cor- 
rectly good moral pieces, set to music. Not a few ol them 
will learn to sing incorrectly, and their songs may be im- 
moral and of wicked tendency, because, unless we appro- 
priate these musical powers to the service of God, they 
may be, and probably will be pressed into the service of 
the devil. In all ages and in all countries, these powers 
have been used by the conqueror to rouse up every angry 
feeling in the breasts of his warriors, to quicken their foot- 
steps, and to redouble their exertions in the battle field. 
What mighty armies have rushed on death, and crimsoned 
the earth with human blood, moved by martial music? 
What hosts of men have been corrupted, lost and ruined, 
by listening to obscene songs? Obscene songs and obscene 
paintings have done a vast deal of mischief in the world. 

Of every nation, civilized or savage, in all the world, 
ours is the only one which has no national music — not 
even one tune, which we can truly call our own! We 
have a multitude of tunes, called original, but on a careful 
examination of them, not one of them will be found to be 
really American! Why this deficiency? It is owing to 
the mortifying fact, that we have neglected to cultivate 



24 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

music in all our schools, as other nations have done. Let 
us open our eyes to this great defect in our system of edu- 
cation, and apply the remedy immediately. Why some 
Bi itish traveller among us has not mentioned this deficiency 
of national music in his book, we cannot divine. Probably 
the hostlers at our inns did not know the fact. 

We proceed to consider the third, last and most impor- 
tant branch of education, which is, the cultivation of the 
moral faculties of man. The text books, contained in the 
Old and New Testaments, are to be carefully perused as 
the first in value of all books, which is emphatically called 

THE BOOK, OR THE BIBLE. 

This book teaches us that we are poor, fallen beings — 
fallen from our original purity, and that, unless we are born 
from above,* we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
This same Book informs us what we are to do, in order to 
secure our everlasting salvation. It requii'es us to repent 
of our sins and believe on the Saviour of men, who died 
for us, to make an atonement for our transgressions: To 
put our trust in Him and his merits, following his example 
and obeying his commands. The essence of the christian 
religion is love — love to God and love to men. Faith, 
hope and charity, but the greatest of these is charity. 

In this holy volume life and immortality are brought to 
light. It gives us correct views of life, death and eternity; 
of God and his attributes; of the adorable Son of God; of 
the ruin and redemption of man; of the spirits of just men 
made perfect; of the innumerable company of angels; and 
of a new heaven and a new earth. One of its precepts 
requires us to do to others as we would that they, under 
similar circumstances, should do to us. In a few words, 
it requires of us that we should so conduct ourselves, that 
we should not be injured by our conduct — so as not to 
injure others in their health, mind, reputation or estate. 
That we should reverence, fear and love God, and obey 
him. Within these few, simple and plain bounds lies our 
whole duty, from the cradle to the coffin. Other religious 

*Our translaiion of the Greek word, anothen, is erroneous, jlnothen does 
not signify again^ but from above,, as we have said, in the text. 



* ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 25 

systems have either gone down to the grave and perished 
forever, like those who adhered to them, or they are now 
mouldering away and falling down in the dust, before the 
onward march of Christianity; whereas the latter, perfect 
in itself, from its very first appearance on earth, is spread- 
ing wider and wider, and prevailing more and more, until 
it shall finally triumph over all its foes. 

The progress of Christianity is a standing miracle. 
Against the superstition of Jews and Pagans— -against the 
influence of their priests, the ridicule of their wits, the 
reasonings of their sages, the craft of their politicians, the 
policy of their kings, and the prowess of their armies; 
agamst the axe, the cross and the stake; in an early age 
of its march, its conquests had extended from the banks of 
the Jordan to those of the Thames. Her laurels were 
alike gathered on the steppes of Tartary, the green fields 
of Europe, and the sands of Arabia. The altars of impiety 
crumbled down into dust, and fell prostrate before her 
onward march, and the feeble lights of philosophy disap- 
peared in the full blaze of the Sun of Righteousness. She 
looked with a mere glance at all human power, and its arm 
withered and fell lifeless by its side. In a short time, she 
who had gone mourning from the cross on Calvary to the 
tomb of Jesus, ascended the imperial throne and waved 
her broad banner, in triumph, over the palace of the Cse- 
sars. Her victories were as benign as they were triumph- 
ant, over all that pollutes, degrades and ruins man, subduing 
his understanding to truth, his habits to rectitude, and his 
whole soul to happiness. 

The more sublime, pure, comprehensive and enduring 
any religion is, the better fitted is it to elevate, purify, ex- 
pand and strengthen the soul of man. Such a religion is 
the better fitted also, to draw out from the depths of the 
human heart all the purity, loveliness and goodness that 
dwell there. How utterly insufficient is any other religion 
but Christianity to purify the affections, subdue our evil 
passions, and fill the soul with high aspirations to do our 
duty to ourselves, to our country and our God? 

Go to ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and converse 
"With their heroes, sages, artists, philosophers, orators, 

4 



26 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

statesmen, poets, historians and men. What profound 
intellects, what acute tastes, what splendid geniuses did 
they possess? The Greeks dwelt in an insulated and strong 
position. Their climate was delicious, their scenery was 
sublime and beautiful, and their form of government was, 
at times, comparatively free. Their mythology contained 
much in it that was grand and fair, and yet how inferior 
was all their literature to that which Christianity has intro- 
duced into the world? 

Of the immortality of the soul they had some few, faint 
hopes; but of the resurrection of the body they knew noth- 
ing — no; in their wildest reveries they never even dream- 
ed that this mortal body would ever put on immortality. 

In the language of Thomas S. Grimke, Esq. " On the 
basis of Christianity stand all our institutions, civil, politi- 
cal, literary, religious, benevolent and social. Hence, the 
necessity of studying the scriptures, even if we only wish- 
ed to understand our duties as citizens, and be reputable 
among men. As a fountain of noble thought, of high as- 
piration to do our duty and be happy even in this life, let 
us study our Bible. But let us also study all our civil, lite- 
rary, social and benevolent institutions. If the develop- 
ment of a power to enlighten the conscience, purify all oui 
affections, banish vice and crime, establish peace and con- 
cord throughout the world, be calculated to fill the soul 
with sublime thoughts and noble sentiments, who will deny 
that all our benevolent societies are so many pure foun- 
tains, from whence flow streams of pure and morally 
healthful rivers, rivulets and rills, that water, refresh and 
adorn the whole field of human life. 

" By raising the character of woman, Christianity has 
done a vast deal of good for her and itself in the world. 
In countries where Christianity does not prevail, a woman, 
if virtuous, is the slave of her parents and the captive of' 
her husband. The poetry, the eloquence and the litera- 
ture which have sprung up, in christian countries, fi-om the 
character and influence of woman, may be compared to 
the starry heavens; whereas, all that appears in the lite- 
rature of Greece and Rome, derived from a similar source, 
scarcely deserves to be compared to a garden of flowers." 

The Greeks were admirers of whatever was beautiful 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 27 

in nature or exquisite in art. Tlie most beautiful pictures 
and statues have been produced in those parts of Europe 
where pure Christianity has made the least progress. 
These decorate and adorn religion, but they neither pro- 
duce nor advance it. They are the refreshments on the 
way, not religion itself, nor any part of it. Athens was 
themost learned and polished city in the world, when Paul 
first preached in it. It was so devoted to the fine arts, 
that it was said to contain more statues than men. Yet, 
in this polished and learned city, Paul's eloquence made 
but one proselyte, an Areopagite, a judge. 

Having thus far said little more of Christianity than a 
pagan might have said, who had become somewhat ac- 
quainted with Christianity one thousand years ago, we now 
proceed to look more deeply into its vivifying principles, 
their very essence, their benign influence, their origin, and 
their ultimate objects, consequences and necessary results. 
Without faith, such as the Gospel requires us to possess, 
we cannot have even one particle of Christianity in our 
hearts. Faith is the evidence of things not seen; it works 
by love and purifies the heart. It is the gift of God. ^ This 
is the christian's faith. In its common acceptation, it im- 
plies a belief in the testimony of some witness, but the 
faith of Christianity is a faith more comprehensive in its 
meaning. We may believe all that the Bible contains, 
and yet not possess one particle of true faith. The devils 
believe, and they even know^ that all that is contained in 
that Book is true. But their wills are not subdued to the 
will of God, nor are their hearts purified by their belief. 
The word heart is used in scripture for the moral faculties 
— for the will, the affections, the conscience and the un- 
derstanding. These are all defiled and polluted, like a 
poisonous fountain; and until the salt of Divine grace has 
iDeen cast into them, poisonous waters will flow from them. 
Yes, the pollutions of sin have pervaded all our moral 
faculties, and they need, they all need, the purification of 
Divine grace. At the head of this guilty tribe stands a 
guilty conscience, stern, gloomy and hateful, and it cannot 
abide the presence of a pure and holy God, yet lashes the 
sinner with a whip of scorpions. To purify the guilty 
offender, pardon must intervene, and shelter it from the 



28 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

curse, which rouses its fears and its resentment. This is 
effected by the atonement made by Jesus Christ, which 
purifies the heart from an evil conscience. The will is 
purified, when it is subdued to the will of God, and deliv- 
ered from its rebellion against its Creator, and most cor- 
dially submits to his good pleasure. The understanding 
is purified, when its errors are corrected, and all the mists 
and delusions which naturally darken its vision, and lead 
it astray, are dissipated, so that it clearly beholds the light 
of the Sun of Righteousness. It can then duly estimate 
the sinfulness of sin, and the loveliness of holiness; things 
carnal, and things spiritual — time and eternity. The af- 
fections are purified, when they are removed from base, 
low and unworthy objects, and placed on those which are 
high, holy, pure and good. They then cease to be at the 
command of every low desire, and every vagrant lust. 
Tiiey then loathe those profligate appetites, in the gratifi- 
cation of which the ungodly place their supreme delight — 
their paradise. They breathe after heaven, become chas- 
tened, and are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This reno- 
vation is effected by what the Bible calls faith. Unless it 
accomplishes all this, it is not a scriptural faith; it must 
work by love, and it must purify the heart, that is, the 
conscience, the will, the affections and the understanding. 
But it is the gift of God, of his free grace, through the 
atonement for our sins, made by His Son, Jesus Christ. 
But to all repenting sinners, who come to him with their 
whole hearts, He, who withheld not his own Son from 
death, but freely gave him up to sufler and die for us, will 
as freely give us faith, hope and every other blessing which 
we need, and ask him for its bestowment. And what are 
the fruits of this faith? In the first moment after receiv- 
ing such a gift from God as faith, the soul that so believes 
is ingrafted into the true vine, and receives all its nourish- 
ment from it, thenceforward and forever. " I am the true 
vine, and my Father is the husbandman," says our Saviour. 
By nature we are sour, wild, uncultivated vines, pi'oducing 
only sour, or bitter and poisonous fruit; but by being in- 
grafted into the true vine by faith, we produce good, and 
even delicious fruit. We obtain a well-founded hope of 
heaven, because, having obtained all the dispositions which 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 29 

qualify us for the most perfect enjoyment in the society of 
angels and of just men made perfect, we shall carry with 
us, ourselves, our purified conscience, will, understanding 
and affections; and they will make us happy. Charity, 
though called the greatest of all our virtues, flows neces- 
sarily from faith — it is social ,» and fits us for the immediate 
presence of God, his Son, his Spirit, the holy angels, and 
the spirits of the redeemed throng, who continually sur- 
round the throne with their songs of adoration, of praise 
and love. 

Such, in as few words as we can use, are our moral 
faculties; such, their natural, ruined condition; such is the 
manner of their restoration to their original purity, and 
such are its effects. These are our moral faculties, which 
have not been cultivated as much in this country as they 
ought to have been, the awful effects of which neglect we 
see all around us, in the ruin of multitudes of both sexes. 

Among our mental faculties may be enumerated, our 
natural love of justice; our sympathy with the afflicted; 
our admiration of the beauties and sublimities of nature 
and art; of great and noble actions, either in public or 
private life; of great and splendid efforts of human genius, 
at the bar, in the pulpit, in the professor's chair, or in the 
popular assembly — in sacrificing one's self-interest on our 
country's altar; in forgiving and overlooking injuries from 
our enemies, &c., &c., &c. These great and noble facul- 
ties of the soul are exerted by the orator, the poet, the 
musician and the warrior. The exertion of these facul- 
ties, when they are great and successful, draw after them 
the admiration of mankind. 

Instead of a large volume on this head of our Essay, 
which might be written, and will one day be written, by 
some future author, we bring forvv^ard a few remarks, to 
set our ideas on this matter in the light in which we 
view it. 

We condemn not the admiration of the beauties of either 
nature or art. To admire the broad expanse of the starry 
heavens, in a clear night — of the boundless prairie and the 
boundless ocean, is a natural impulse of savage and sage, 
young or old, in all countries and all ages. So of the sub- 
limities exhibited in the falls of Niagara; in the mighty 



so ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

conflicts of great and powerful fleets and armies, as at 
Trafalgar, at the battle of the Nile, on lake Erie, and on 
Champlain. So of battles on the land, as those of ancient 
and modern times, wherein mighty armies contended for 
liberty, for empire and dominion. All mankind may justly 
admire the eloquence of Cicero and Demosthenes, of 
Sheridan and Burke, of the Earl of Chatham, and his son, 
William Pitt; of James Otis, Patrick Henry, the elder Ad- 
ams, and all that host of orators, statesmen and patriots, 
that adorned and ennobled our revolution. So of the 
beauties of nature and art; we may be delighted standing on 
some breezy hill, and looking down on the landscape be- 
neath us, diversified with hill and dale, copsewood and 
forest — the flowery meadow and the well cultivated field; 
the running brook, and the prattling rivulet; the gently 
flowing river, the unruffled lake or pond of pure water; 
the neat, white cottages of the farmers; their orchards, 
fruit yards and gardens; and we may listen to the lowing 
of their herds of cattle; the bleating of their sheep and 
lambs; the sweet songs of the birds in their groves, build- 
ing their nests or feeding their young ones. We may 
behold the distant city, the Queen of the West, thronged 
with thousands of human beings — all busy, all moving, all 
active, laboring at their daily toils. We may see the lofty 
spires of their churches, and listen to the melodious sounds 
of their bells. We may descend from the eminence, where 
we have stood delighted, and enter the church, and see the 
splendor there; see the choir of singers, and listen to their 
sweet and melodious voices, singing songs of praise, ac- 
companied by the organ and other musical instruments — 
all moving in a harmony which delights and enraptures 
our souls with exquisite pleasure. We may proceed from 
thence to some collection of statues and paintings, and 
behold with exquisite pleasure the labors of the best art- 
ists, glowing with almost real life ; showing every limb of 
the body, and every feature of the face; and all the pas- 
sions of human beings depicted in their very eyes, which 
seem to follow us, as we move about the room, where they 
are placed. We may look upon and converse with the 
most polished, refined and exalted living persons in all the 
land, and behold all the workings of a soul of the finest 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 31 

mould, on whatever subject it dwells. The very eye of 
such persons reveals all the thoughts that enter into the 
mind. Of all the works of God, in this lower world, the 
human face of a good, well-educated man, or woman, in 
conversation, lighted up with thoughts pertaining to pure, 
high, great and good objects, is the most beautiful, mter- 
esting and dehghtful object which we possibly can behold. 
Man, as he was originally created, or as he may become, 
by rising to the purity and dignity from which he has fallen, 
is the most beautiful, noble, and morally sublime object, 
which this world presents to our sight. We may shed a 
tear of sympathy over human misery; we may be just in 
our dealings, from a natural sense of justice; and we may 
perform many of our duties to our wives, children and 
friends, moved by natural affection, as a pagan does, and 
yet be far from the kingdom of heaven. Or, in other 
words, unless our righteousness exceed that of the Scribes 
and Pharisees, we shall in nowise enter into the society 
of the blessed spirits made perfect above. 

The Greeks and Romans equalled us in their admiration 
of all such objects, sublime and beautiful, as we have above 
mentioned. Their history exhibits to us many great men 
of splendid genius, and fine taste; and who expressed many 
noble thoughts and patriotic sentiments; who performed 
prodigies of valour, wrote beautifully, and reasoned inge- 
niously and acutely. They were powerful in debate, 
eloquent in the forum and in the mixed assembly. As 
generals, as poets, orators, statesmen, fathers and mothers, 
and men and women, they present to our view objects of 
noble thoughts and refined sentiments. They cultivated 
the mental faculties only, because, though the common 
people had some faint glimmerings of the immortality of 
the soul, and of a future state of existence — and although 
their poets indulged in some fictions on that subject, yet 
the great mass of the Greeks and Romans never dreamed 
that the soul existed after the death of the body. So that 
the nations of antiquity never cultivated the moral faculties 
of man, nor believed that they possessed such faculties. 
But we live in an age and country, in which life and im- 
mortality are brought to light in the Gospel; and yet how 
many parents, guardians and instructors of youth, in our 



32 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

country, our whole country, seem to have overlooked this 
most important of all facts in the education of the rising 
generation ? 

Thus we have stated what we call the physical powers 
of our bodies, our mental and moral faculties, and we have 
placed the whole subject in that point of view, as far as 
we have gone, in which a nation calling itself christian, 
should behold it. 

We will now proceed to point out some of the great, 
prominent defects in our system of education, to which 
we, as a people, and a whole people, are chiefly indebted 
for the prevalence of much of all the vice and misery now 
abounding in a country more highly favored than any other 
on the globe in its climate, soil and productions — whose 
form of government is as free as heart can desire it to be; 
and yet, our citizens are as far from being happy as almost 
any other people on the globe. Mortifying as this fact 
certainly is, yet a regard for truth compels us, however 
reluctantly, to admit the fact. Yes, with grief and shame, 
we admit the fact. Notwithstanding all our physical, 
mental, moral and political advantages, which are superior 
to those of any other people, in this or in any other age 
or country on earth, we are a most unhappy people. No 
foreign enemy has ravaged our cuntry with fire and sword, 
nor even set his hostile foot upon our peaceful shores — no 
pestilence has wasted us with disease and death — no king, 
under that title, has oppressed us with exorbitant taxes — 
no priests have collected even one cent of ty thes from us 
— no press-gang has dragged our sons on board our ships 
of war — no monarch has, as yet, levied his conscription 
on our young men, and dragged them away from their 
homes, to serve in his armies in times of peace. But, on 
the other hand, a profound peace reigns among us — no 
disease wastes us, and we possess the fairest land beneath 
the sun ; heaven has blessed us with an abundance of food 
and raiment; and yet, through the weakness and wicked- 
ness of our rulers and our people, we are, mentally and 
morally, a most miserable nation. Would that this was a 
mere fancy sketch, and not, as it truly is, a stern, sad, 
humiliating, heart-rending reality. All our evils grow out 
of our great and dreadful 



ESSAY OiN EDUCATION. 33 



DEFECTS IN OUR MORAL EDUCATION, AS A PEOPLE. 

There are, and certainly must be, some great and capital 
defects in all our systems of education in this entire na- 
tion, otherwise, there could not exist among us, every 
where, so much vice and crime. These vices and crimes 
produce a vast amount of physical, mental and moral evil 
and misery. Some of these defects originated in commonly 
received opinions, and have been handed down to us 
through ages past, and not a few of them have grown up 
among us within a few years. But, the greatest and the 
most prominent defect in our system, is the universal pre- 
ference of mental over moral excellence. Nothing is more 
common than a belief, that early wickedness shows talent 
and genius; whereas, docihty, gentleness, afiection for 
parents, brothers, sisters and friends show stupidity. Gen- 
erally speaking, the very reverse is true — witness George 
Washington. How often do we see worthless men teach- 
ing youth to swear, to drink spirits, and learn them other 
vicious practices? Where depravity is permitted to take 
root, in early life, reformation is all that can be hoped for; 
and how seldom does reformation, in that case, appear, 
except, like a ghastly spectre, it approaches the miserable, 
ruined wretch on his death-bed? It is an awful error to 
cultivate the mind^ and neglect the heart. It would seem 
as if not a few of our wealthiest men in the nation wished* 
to so educate their sons, that they may become the mere 
sport of their passions; and their daughters, so that they 
may resemble the meteor, flash, shine, sparkle, glitter and 
glare, for a moment, and then vanish from our sight, and 
be forgotten forever. Look all over the Union, and be- 
hold the immense wreck of mind, of health, of happiness 
and of all the moral affections, and then tell us, whether 
the thousands and tens of thousands of wretched, ruined 
human beings whom we see, have not been awfully and 
shamefully neglected in their early education, by their pa- 
rents, teachers or guardians. Look at the sons of quite 
too many of our rich men: Early in life, even while they 
we beardless youths, quite too many of them pmti?? 

5 



34 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

every manly vice, for the purpose of gaining the appella- 
tion of men. They are idle, they drink and gamble, asso- 
ciate v^fith lewd and vicious persons of both sexes, and visit 
all the places where all sorts of vices are practiced. By 
all their conversation and all their actions they show us, 
that they are thoroughly initiated into all the fashionable 
vices and sins of these degenerate days. Dissolute in their 
manners, they either die very young, or at most, they live 
only a few years, but generally long enough to squander 
away on their vices all the property left to them by their 
parents. Their fathers have generally, before the decease 
of such sons, gone down with sorrovv to the grave, dying 
of broken hearts. The lives of such worthless sons are 
vain and wicked, and they die unpitied and unforgiven of 
God and man. Oh ! who would envy the parents of such 
sons, however wealthy they might have been, or however 
high in office? 

Oh! what parent would not prefer to be poor, and strug- 
gle along through life, to give his children a plain, sound, 
good, common education, and rear them up in the fear of 
God, and have children that would eventually become 
honest, industrious, plain, useful citizens, than to give them 
great riches, and afford them great opportunities of be- 
coming learned professional men, and thereby run the great 
and awful risk of their becoming dissipated, vicious and 
worthless creatures? Look all over the nation, and see 
who are the very first men, in every prominent station in 
society, (except political stations) — in mechanical skill, in 
mercantile pursuits, in agricultural wealth, in learning, in 
civil, naval or military stations. Those men, so high, so 
rich, so learned, so respected, caressed and honored now, 
were once poor boys, mostly, and have seen the time, and 
can remember the day, when they neither had, nor knew 
where they could procure, even one dollar. 

In all ages and in all countries, we see the same good 
Providence governing the world in the same way. What 
was Homer, the greatest poet of all antiquity, but a blind 
beggar and strolling ballad singer? So, in modern times, 
what was Columbus but a poor wanderer from one coun- 
try to another, until Isabella sold her own jewels where- 
with to raise funds enough, to fit him out a small numbei 



USSAT ON EDUCATION. 35 

of crazy vessels, with which he discovered America? 
What was Martin Luther originally, who effected the Re- 
formation, but a poor, despised monk ? What were Milton, 
Locke and Newton? Those great and mighty men were 
school-masters. What was Shakspeare? A low player 
at the theatre in Drury lane. Now, he is England's boast 
and glory. Returning to our own country, the time would 
fail us, as well as our readers' patience, to tell of Franklin, 
Wirt, Monroe, and a long list of men, who have raised 
themselves from the depths of ignorance, poverty and de- 
pendence, to the heights of fame and. usefulness. Gene- 
rally speaking, we may safely affirm that our men, most 
distinguished for wealth, honor, fame, skill, learning, wis- 
dom, and success in any calling, belonged either to parents 
who were poor, and so were driven to straits, and they 
struggled hard, to educate their children in the best way 
they could, teaching them to be industrious and skillful in 
their business; to be honest, faithful and kind to their fel- 
low-men; and, above all, to fear God and keep his com- 
mandments: or such distinguished and prosperous men 
were once orphans, without any father to educate them, 
though belonging to pious widows. Of such men, it may 
be said, that their temperance, industry, honesty, fair deal- 
ing, attention to their business, promptness, kindness and 
respect for their fellow-citizens, their strict integrity in all 
their dealings, their careful observance of all the duties 
which they owed to themselves, their friends and their 
God, procured them confidence, friends and patronage. 
Whatever they attempted to do, whether they aimed at 
the pinnacles of wealth, learning, fame, or honor, ascend- 
ing step by step, they finally placed themselves on the 
very summit of all their wishes. Arise, young men of the 
United States, whether rich or poor, and travel along 
through life in the road which we have pointed out, dnd 
success will attend you on your way, and crown you with 
comfort and happiness in old age. Thus we see, that poor 
parents, widows and orphans, who are struggling to do 
their duty faithfully, need not despond in their straits, be- 
cause, if they faint not by the way, success shall one day 
crown all their efforts with joy ; their last days shall, as- 
suredly, be their best days, and the child, and every chil4j 



S6 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

that is trained up, in early life, in the way he should go, 
when he is old, he will never depart from it. So that 
faithful parents and dutiful children, however poor they 
may be, need not despair in their straits, but casting all 
their load of grief and despondency and care on their 
heavenly Father's arm. He will come to their relief in due 
season. Why is it that the sons of rich men so often come 
to ruin, whereas, poor men's sons so frequently succeed 
in the world? Is it not owing, mostly, to the preference of 
the rich for mental cultivation to the moral culture de- 
manded by God, as well as by reason and true wisdom? 
And why du such men persist in such a course, regardless 
of the certain and the awful consequences of such a trea- 
sonable abuse of their high and holy tmst of educating 
their offspring in the fear of God? 

Parents should govern their children, and teach them to 
govern themselves. Without the strictest self-government, 
we resemble a ship at sea in a storm, out of sight of land, 
without sails, rudder or compass. At the mercy of every 
wave of the sea, and every blast of air, we are ready to be 
dashed into pieces on some iron-bound coast, or foundered 
and lost in some whirlpool. The want of good, strict pa- 
•entnl government, we fear, is one of the great defects in 
education, at this time. To the reading of good books, 
and the keeping of good, virtuous company, and good in- 
struction from parents, should be added the good exampk 
of the parents themselves. Precept without example is 
many times useless. During a life of more than sixty 
years, spent mostly in public life, and among the crowd, 
consisting of all sorts of people, from the most savage and 
ignorant and barbarous people in North America, up to 
the very first in learning, science and literature: from the 
poorest to the most wealthy — from the worst to the best 
in all the land, I can say, that I have never known even 
one young man go to ruin, except it was owing to the 
conduct of his parents, guardians or instructors. 

The reader will perhaps indulge us in saying that, not 
many years since, we visited, on business, one of the 
wealthiest families in our Great Western Valley. Our 
business being 'finished, and we were about to leave the 
house, when we were urgently pressed to remain u. few 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 37 

minutes in private, with the heads of this family. The 
doors were all closed, when a tale, the most heart-rending, 
was told us by the afflicted parents. Their sons had till 
become drunken, dissipated and worthless. " I have often 
read," said the father, •■' in my bible, of children who brought 
down the grey hairs of their parents with sorrow to the 
grave, and I know, with my whole heart, what that means." 
The tears flowed freely from both parents' eyes, bedewing 
the carpet where they sat, and they were convulsed with 
the most heart-rending sorrow. Their deep sighs, groans 
and tears pierced my very soul. At length I inquired if 
they had done all their duty to prevent the awful calamity 
which had overtaken them? They replied " that they had 
done all they could to -prevent it. They had warned, ex- 
Jiorted and commanded their sons to reform, but all in 
vain. In vain had they besought their sons, with tears, to 
reform their lives." But, on further inquiry, I ascertained 
that before they became very wealthy, in oi'der to turn 
their abundant crops of corn into ready money, they had 
erected a distillery on the back part of their farm, wherein 
their grain was distilled into whiskey, so that every fifty 
cent's worth of corn had been made to yield them one 
dollar. The sons were permitted to spend every Sunday 
at this distillery, instead of going to a church, which was 
two miles off. Before the parents were aware of it, the 
sons had become drunkards, and nothing could be done to 
prevent their final ruin afterwards. The parents went 
down with sorrow to their graves, and the sons are ruined 
forever. How unwise, how wicked is it in parents to la- 
bor only for their children, by laying up and leaving to 
their offspring a large property, consisting of houses and 
lands, goods and money, and neglect " to lay up for them 
treasures in heaven, which no moth can corrupt, and no 
thief steal" from them? Had those now lost and ruined 
young men been sent to some Sunday School, instead of 
going to the distillery — had their parents taught them the 
truths of the Gospel, and set them a good example, in all 
human probability, they would now have all been alive, 
instead of being dead ; all prosperous and all happy, a bless- 
ing and a comfort to each other, and to all around them. 
Where the parent teaches one thing, but practices the 



38 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

very reverse, the son, generally, follows the example^ and 
neglects the precept of his father. If the father drinks to 
excess a very few times in his life-time, the son oftentimes 
becomes a confirmed drunkard and perfect sot. So of all 
other vices — the son finds them all out, and follows them, 
in his whole life afterwards. To those who feel all the 
paternal affection which belongs to almost every father in 
the world, this consideration ou2;ht to have, and will have, 
an influence on every action of his life. This considera- 
tion will lie heavy on his soul, at all times, and in all situa- 
tions in life. It tends to make us feel our own weakness and 
inability to do all we should do, and lead us to pray for the 
aid of our Great Father, to assist us, poor, frail, erring hu- 
man beings, in the discharge of our parental duties. 



CHAPTER II. 



FEMALE EDUCATION. 



The treatment and education of females, in this country, 
compared with the treatment and education which they 
receive in any other country, form a most striking con- 
trast. This subject, so important in itself, as it affects 
not only our females, but our whole community, demands 
our serious consideration. We are aware of the fact, 
that much has been written on this subject, especially of 
late years. Some writers, more particularly female au- 
thors, have said many excellent things, touching this mat- 
ter; but, we are equally well aware, that nearly all that 
has appeared in novels, or in silly periodicals; written, or 
conducted, mostly by frivolous young men, are utterly 
unworthy of women; and injurious, and even disgraceful 
to our country. Having said thus, we leave to them- 
selves such self-conceited and frivolous authors, and their 
readers and admirers. 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 39 

In all countries, except in this Union, whether in Eu- 
rope or America, the females labor out of doors in the 
open air. They drive or hold the plow, and sometime^ 
draw it, beside an ass or a mule, (as in Italy.) They rake 
hay, they use the hoe, the axe and the saw; they sow and 
reap the grain; and, in fact, perform all sorts of labor on 
the farm. They make long journies on business, and 
carry it on in their houses, shops, and store-rooms. At 
court, they are politicians. Forty years since, the far- 
mers' wives and daughters labored on the farm, in parts 
of New York, Pennsylvania, and in all the settlements 
where Germans or Irish people dwelt in considerable 
numbers. The arrival of the New Englanders among 
them, banished the females from the fields to their houses 
and fire-sides. The change was beneficial to both sexes; 
but, from one extreme, how prone are we to vibrate to 
the other! Are our females to be either kitchen-maids, 
without a particle of information, except it belong to mere 
labor of body, without any mental cultivation? 



A FASHIONABLE FEMALE EDUCATION. 

If they are taught any thing more, shall it he only, how 
to play on the harp, the guitar, and the piano-forte, to 
draw figures on paper or cloth, with a painter's brush 
or a needle? To dance a waltz; walk gracefully on their 
toes; make a handsome courtesy; keep an album; sing a 
fashionable song; wear a corset-board, false curls and ar- 
tificial flowers; hold a silly conversation on nothing; leer 
and look languishing; and, — act the fool? 

We have banished the former state of things, as to 
the treatment of females, and we now anxiously desire to 
see driven out of our land, the present frivolous practices 
which we have named. They are a disgrace to this en- 
lightened age. 

The main objects of educating females are precisely 
the same with those of educating the other sex — to de- 
velope all their powers and faculties, and, to prepare 
them for happiness and usefulness. We take it for grant- 
ed, because we know it is in fact so, that females are as 



40 ESSAY ON KDUCATION. 

capable of attaining all sorts of knowledge as the other 
sex. Indeed they learn more easily, and at an earlier age, 
than the other sex. They are more easily governed and 
more plastic. We have already hinted at a fashionable 
female education. We now proceed to state what we 
wish our females to learn. In addition to the common 
branches of education, such as reading, writing, English 
grammar and arithmetic; we wish to see superadded, 
geography, chemistry, botany, vocal music, astronomy, 
algebra, rhetoric, mineralogy, geology, mechanics, natu- 
ral and moral pliilosophy, geometry, and all the branches 
of the higher mathematics; civil and ecclesiastical his- 
tory, biography; including more especially, the lives of 
great, good and distinguished women. By raising the 
character of woman, Christianity has already done a great 
deal for her, and itself. We wish to see it do more still, 
for her education, especially in our own country. "The 
dignity, purity, and loveliness of woman, ought to be made 
the study of both sexes. We ought to breathe into the 
very souls of our youth of both sexes, high and holy 
thoughts of the mother, sister, wife, daughter, and female 
friend. We should kindle into flame, a high, pure and 
holy admiration of a truly good, and, well-educated woman. 
Let us strive to make all hearts thrill into tenderness at 
the fidelity, fortitude and tenderness of woman. Civiliza- 
tion and Christianiiy owe much to women; to American 
Avomen, in savage lands."* As we admit of no differ- 
ence, in the capacities of the two sexes for attaining know- 
ledge, so we know of no difference in the modes of con- 
veying it to their minds. What food is to the body, 
knowledge is to the mind; it adds to its dimensions, ex- 

S)ands, strengthens, elevates, ennobles, and, invigorates it. 
■iight education of either sex, forms good habits and era- 
dicates bad ones. And, as good, nutricious food taken 
into the body, becomes incorporated with the body and 
forms a part of itself, so knowledge taken into the mind, 
and properly digested, becomes a portion of the soul it- 
self. To such a sound, thorough and extensive educa- 
tion of females, as we are recommending, we are well 

* Thomae Smith Grimke, Esq. 



( 



KSSAY ON El>UCATION. 4l 

aware that tliere are. numerous objections in this country; 
and we will proceed to state and answer some of them. 

It is objected, "that such an education occupies too 
much time, and, costs too much money." We reply, that 
by following up our plan of education to its end, would 
not occupy as much time, nor cost as much money as arc 
now expended on acquiring the showy, frivolous and fool- 
ish education now in vogue. The present fashionable 
education, can, at best, only render happy its possessor 
for a few short years, which are happy enough, generally, 
without it. It then vanishes, and, disappears for ever; 
whereas, our system affords an education that lasts for- 
ever. At the very most, the first lasts until the female 
is married, whereas, the other endures forever. 

The early education of the daughter, ought to be more 
thorough, deeper, clearer, sounder, more extensive and bet- 
ter, than the education of the son; because the daughter, 
early in life, becomes a wife and a mother; retires from 
the world, to her own peculiar empire — her home. The 
son, if not thoroughly educated for his calling, at first, is 
compelled by circumstances, by the world, all around him 
— by rivals in business — by his own shame and emulation, 
to educate himself. Indeed, he is always learning some- 
thing, either by good or bad luck, useful for him to know. 
It is not so with the daughter who must learn in early 
life or never learn. Be a woman ever so wealthy in this 
country, she must know how to cook her food, to wash 
and iron her clothes and those of her family; to nurse her 
children and teach her daughters to do the same. If she 
have servants they may be ignorent, lazy, and worthless; 
and, there may be times when no servants can be pro- 
cured. She may be too poor to hire servants. So that 
every housekeeper must know all these arts of house- 
keeping. But, it is often objected, " that a sound substan- 
tial education, makes women pedantic, and disagreeable 
companions." Were that the case, we say, then make 
female education common. We never boast of having 
any thing which is common to all around us. Whoever 
boasted that he had two eyes, two ai'ms, or ten toes? 
Although we admitted the validity of this objection, for the 

6 



42 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

purpose of showing that it destroyed itself, yet we deny 
the assertion altogether as applying more, or even as much 
to women as to men of learning, who are sometimes quite 
rough and rustic, if not pedantic in their manners. The 
farmer, the mechanic, and even the horse jockey, have as 
much pedantry, hi their loay of showing it, as the lady or 
the man of learning. Nay they have more of that com- 
modity which we may call pedantry. Vanity and obtru- 
siveness of knowledge and skill, resemble the noise, of 
shallow and small streams of water, which belongs not 
to large and deep ones which are silent and still. We 
takeno notice of the crack and the flourish of a horse jock- 
ey's whip, because he is beneath our notice, but if a 
learned woman or a learned man should be vain of her or 
his knowledge we should notice and wonder at it, because 
it is so uncommon a sight, for us to see. So this objec- 
tion destroys itself, and, proves the contrary of what it 
affirms. 

It is objected "that good, sound, substantial knowledge 
in women, prevents their attending to their domestic duties, 
of wife, mother and friend." 

Can it be supposed, for a moment, that such an educa- 
tion, can so operate on her mind, as to make her forget 
her appropriate duties; make her hate her husband; will 
she cease to love her child and forget the duties which 
she owes to her God and her neighbor? "C?'ec?ai Judaeus 
Appella — non ego.'''' But if learning, even profound learn- 
ing can blot out connubial love and maternal affection, 
can ignorance give its Cimmerian votary, order, method 
prudence, discretion, industry, frugality, love, affection 
and all the domestic virtues? It is a common, maxim, 
"that we cannot have too much of a good thing," but if ig- 
norance among women, is a good thing, we certainly have 
quite too much of it, at present. And finally, as to this 
objection to learning and consequent love of ignorance, 
can the latter make a good, kind, benevolent, industrious, 
intelligent, and faithful wife; a fond, affectionate and faith- 
ful mother? We hold the very reverse of such an opinion. 
As it now too often happens, that, women of forty, know, 
actually less, than many a boy, only twelve years old! 
Even the lovers of ignorance in women, will hardly dare 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 43 

to argue in favor of such a disparity of knowledge be- 
tween the former and the latter. For the consolation, 
however, of men, who fear that our system of female educa- 
tion will soon become so perfect that they cannot find igno- 
rant women enough for wives and companions for them, 
we can assure them, that do all we can, to educate them, 
yet, there will always be ignorant women enough for all 
such men. We hope this idea will console them. To 
another class of men, we say, consider, for a moment, 
the solitary state, in which women are placed; — the ill 
treatment which they sometimes receive, and which they 
are compelled to bear, in silence, without the power of 
complaining; and, these men, will be compelled to 
acknowledge, that the happiness of such women, must be 
drawn from their own minds. In such a case, who will 
be the happiest? the well read and well educated, or 
the ignorant women? 

Again, if pompous men, who fear women as their rivals 
in knowledge, prefer ignorant women, yet men of liberal 
minds and true politeness, prefer, enthusiastically prefer, 
a learned woman, as their wife, companion and friend, 
and for the mother of their children. They prefer a 
wife, whose conversation is agreeable; who forgetting 
herself, can strive to please them ; can sympathize with 
them; soothe all their sorrows and render them happy. 
Such a woman can suggest a thousand amenities, and 
thei'eby fix her empire in the heart. She can render 
herself so agreeable and so necessary, that she may rise in 
the domestic circle, becoming its cement and its charm. 
Domestic life is her proper sphere, and it is there, that 
she is most happy and most useful. Society too, owes 
to her, its ballance and its tone. In the circle in which 
she moves, she may correct what is wrong, moderate 
what is unruly, and restrain indecorum. She may 
prevent excess, check vice and protect virtue. Domestic 
comfort is the chief source of her influence, and nothing 
tends so much to improve the character of men, as 
domestic peace. Her smile can drive away and dissipate 
the cloud on her husband's brow and gladden his heart. 
The feudal system is gone forever, so that to secure 
respect, a woman must now eflfect that object by her 



44 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

intrinsic qualities. For her real, intrinsic excellence, her 
usefulness and the happiness which she confers, on her 
husband, her children and the domestic circle, she is now 
most highly appreciated. To be happy, however, a woman 
must be pious. If religion be necessary in common 
troubles, how shall she be able to pass through graver 
sorrows, from which she is by no means exempt? 
Nothing is more affecting than a woman's chastened 
sorrow. Her ties may all be dissolved, her fond hopes 
all withered, her affections blighted, yet peace may dwell 
in her heart and heaven in her eye. Such a woman, 
overwhelmed with deep sorrow, will retire to her 
chamber, her closet, and go with her whole heart to Him,- 
who has said, " Ye that are weary and heavy laden, 
come to me, and I will give you rest. " It is in her silent 
chamber, she learns to look her sorrows in the face, 
encounter and subdue them: she thus becomes familiar 
with the features of her grief; she communes with 
affliction, as if it were a heavenly messenger, sent down, 
by her heavenly Father, to warn her that this is not her 
better home; and, that she should so pass through time, 
as to prepare for her eternal home. By thus communing 
with her affliction, her own heart and her God, she learns 
to cast all her burdens of grief, on that Almighty arm, 
that can, and will sustain her, lighten her load, and, make 
it easy to bear. Religion is exactly what a woman needs. 
It is the best and almost the only elevating principle. It 
identifies itself with all the actions of her life, because, 
all her actions flow from a heart, that has become a pure 
fountain, into which, the salt of divine grace has been 
cast. Religion gives a woman, that dignity, which best 
suits her dependance; a dignity of feeling, not of station: 
she may be morally great, though her station be a 
subordinate one. Religion, in woman, is never more 
lovely, nor more dignified and morally sublime, than when 
it causes her to wipe off the tear, from the sufferer's brow; 
impart a martyr's courage to the humblest spirit: teach 
us, in the stillness of the sick chamber, to bow our heads 
in submission, to the Author of our being; and, endure our 
trials with christian fortitude. 

The greatest blessing attending female influence is the 



KSSAT ON EDUCATION. 45 

promotion of religious feeling. A religious woman may, 
by gentle persuasion, enforce truth and cause religion to 
be loved for her sake. By her example she can best 
persuade others to love goodness. By witnessing its good 
eflect on her, men may be brought, to correctly appreciate 
its real value. How efficacious has been such a silent 
appeal, when an open and direct one, would have failed? 
A woman may be so pious towards her parents, so 
affectionate towards her husband; so devoted to her 
children: she may so grace the family and private circle, 
that her religion is no longer condemned, even by the 
vilest of m,en. Many a pious son, has acknowledged 
with tears of gratitude, what he owed to his mother. 
►Such a woman has witnesses of her goodness, in the 
hearts of all around her; but whatever she attempts to 
do, should be accompanied by humility. This remark, 
equally applies to both sexes. Jesus himself has set the 
example and all must follow it. We should doubt the 
success of any one, who attempted to use his or her 
influence, vv'ithout humility, — without the lowliness and 
gentleness of the Saviour. The subject is so vast, and 
our capacities are so limited, that assumption only shows 
our weakness, where we should strive to follow and learn 
of our great Teacher. 



FEMALE FANATICS. 

What can be more disgusting, than to see women, some- 
times, even, very young women, arrogating to them- 
selves, not merely, the right of private judgment, but of 
dictation, in matters of great, conflicting, doubtful ques- 
tions of national importance? Do we not sometimes see 
them become the tools of some fanatic, some zealot, whose 
ever-varying opinions they blindly adopt and follow, in 
his erratic and eccentric orbit? The religion of such 
women, consists wholly of impulse and feeling. Their 
domestic duties are forgotten and neglected. They wan- 
der about from house to house, retailing the errors of the 
day; dealing out their favorite drugs and nostrums to 



4'6 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

weak and wayward Christians. They travel around, car- 
rying with them specifics, which, if used, will produce 
the identical, mental and moral diseases which they pre- 
tend to cure! In this way, they may kindle, for a mo- 
ment, a little blaze, but it is not a fii'e which originated in 
the sanctuary. The coals which kindled it came from 
the empiric's furnace, not from off the altar. To such 
persons, we would say, that fanaticism is not true religion. 
It is a noisome weed, not the Rose of Sharon. Fanati- 
cism is ever bold and walks with long strides, unveiled in 
the broad street; tells her tale aloud, and courts display. 
She runs to the rich and to the poor, to the leai'ned and 
the ignorant, stirring up strife and party spirit. 
How^ different is the modest and quiet mien of 

TRUE RELIGION. 

She shuns the crowd of idle gazers, and opens not the 
garrulous mouth of fame. Known by few, seen by fevv^, 
she may be found in the retired village, the private circle, 
or solitary chamber; but, wherever she is found, whether 
seated on a throne, or on a molehill; whether dwelling in 
a lofty and splendid palace, or in a lowly and sordid shed; 
whether commanding an empire, or, sold into slavery; 
whether adorned with diamonds, or, clothed in rags; 
whether in prosperity or adversity, joy or sorrow; peace 
and purity dwell in her heart, heaven in her eye, and in 
all her actions, dignity and love. 

One of the most important duties of a mother is due to 
her children. In infancy she is their best nurse, in child- 
hood and youth, she is their best teacher. No matter 
how many teachers the children may have, their mother 
cannot be dispensed with, because she is better than all 
others. She must teach the first lessons, and so teach 
them, that they will never be forgotten in after life. She 
must give life and energy to the whole system of educa- 
tion. She will teach her children either good or bad, be- 
cause her children will follow her example. It is the 
mother's duty to watch the early bias, to regulate the tem- 
per, and to mend the heart; to teach its young spirit to 
ascend to heaven in prayer, and to turn all the little in- 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 47. 

cidents of a child's life into lessons of wisdom. On the 
mother the' child most sweetly smiles, confides most in 
her, and goes to her, in all its' little trials, for sympathy, 
consolation and relief. To that great and good Being 
who has given her the child, should she teach it to go, as 
its heavenly Father, as its best friend, and rely on Him, 
his care, protection and love. These facts being so, the 
necessity of such a female education, as we advocate, is 
apparent. She may be placed where, unless she educate 
her children, they cannot be educated by any one else. 
She may be left a widow with children, and an estate un- 
settled and left in confusion, so that unless she is well ed- 
ucated, she may be defrauded out of her last dollar. Our 
laws do all they can do for widows and orplians, but they 
cannot do every thing. She must learn her rights, and 
maintain them. In all her trials, and in all her griefs, on 
account of herself and her orphans, she may — she must 
go to Him who has promised her and her orphans that he 
will be her God, and her children's Father. To Him we 
may safely commend them. 

In political affairs, our females possess a great and 
commanding influence in this country. During our revo- 
lutionary struggle and the last war with England, this 
influence operated powerfully on the other sex. This 
same influence was felt and it prevailed in the Presi- 
dential elections of 1828 and of 1840. From the crest of 
the Alleganies to the Mississippi river, they and their chil- 
dren put down the then existing administration of the ge- 
neral government, in 1840. They sung, "Tippecanoe 
and Tyler too," into office, and most effectually "used up 
Van" Buren. 



48 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 



CHAPTER III, 



A dandy: or, a FASHrONABLY EDUCATED YOUNG MAN. 



See him, with his dumb watch, made for show, sus- 
pended to a gilt chain, of the value of twelve and a half 
cents, descending gracefully from his neck, over his bo- 
som, to his vest pocket, where it is gracefully deposited! 
With a cigar in his mouth, from which volumes of smoke 
are issuing, as from an active volcano ! We see him, on 
a Sunday morning, stepping high, with long strides, pas- 
sing along the street and stopping at, and walking into, 
every grocery that is kept open, and there taking his 
drink. He can swear as profanely as any full-grown sin- 
ner of a man. He can walk, when sober, on week days, 
gracefully on his toes, in his shrieking boots or shoes, and, 
if his stays will permit him, he can stoop so low that, with 
his little graceful cane, he can pick up his pocket hand- 
kerchief, which purposely he had let fall! Converse with 
him, he talks big, looks big, feels big, and acts big. He 
is a man, and a great man, in his own estimation; but he 
cannot tell us how many states there are in the Union; 
how many planets belong to our solar system; nor the 
difference between a monarchy and a republic. He can 
rail against the administration of the general government 
or praise it, as is the fashion of the party to which he be- 
longs. He can rail at all priests, scoff at all religion, and 
blaspheme the name of God and of the Saviour who died 
to save him. He prates of his acquaintance with every 
fashionable young lady, and well remembers the very 
name of her lap-dog! What a surprising memory ! But, 
can he remember the Lord's prayer and the ten com- 
mandments? No; these he has never learned. He fan- 
cies that his looks, his dress, his address, his slender per- 
son and leaden eye, can captivate ail hearts, especially 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 49 

those of the ladies. He is determined to marry a fortune. 
And when he goes into business, all the world will cer- 
tainly come to his stt)re to purchase their goods — or to his 
shop for medicines — or to his law-offif^e for advice. His 
father, he says, was educated when the world knew no- 
thing, and so taught him nothing. He knew not how to 
captivate all hearts by a mere look, by the dangling of a 
watch-chain, and the cut of his hair, and so he filled to 
amass a vast fortune for his son to waste. His wiser son 
says to himself, that he will soon show us how a fortune 
is to be made by his cleverness in business. He must 
begin the world, though, by a runaway match, and thus 
he gets an heiress for his wife. Her parents are over- 
whelmed with the calamity at first, but loving their daugh- 
ter, they relent, and set him up in business. Extrava- 
gance, and want of care and foresight, involve him in diffi- 
culties of all sorts, and finally he fails, and becomes a ruined 
bankrupt — bankrupt in fame, character, health, and money. 
His wife dies with grief, and her parents follow her and des- 
cend into their graves, leaving their worthless son-in-law 
a monument of his own folly, self-conceit, and wicked- 
ness. He totters around a few short years, out of busi- 
ness, out of health, and an object of scorn, which no one 
pities and no one aids. He dies and disappears from hu- 
man sight, and is soon forgotten, without even a stone to 
tell us where he is buried. And this end of a fashionable 
young man and a fashionably educated young lady, is the 
very best and most correct one that can be drawn, with 
truth and impartiality. By far the greatest number of 
both sexes do not live long enough in the world to pass 
through such a life, opening with a farce and ending in a 
tragedy. No; ninety-nine out of every hundred such 
young men and young women run a shorter race on their 
way to the grave. The young man by drinking, gam- 
bling, and lewdness, contracts diseases which carry him 
oflf at an early age. The young lady, as she is polite- 
ly called, by tight lacing, by exposure to the night air, 
after leaving the ball-room, the theatre, or the crowd- 
ed assembly-room, contracts a violent cold, which ends 
in a pulmonary consumption that carries her off to the 

7 



50 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

grave, her long home. Such is a fashionable education 
for both sexes, and such is the fashionable end of it. The 
sooner such persons disappear from our sight, perhaps, the 
better for them and for the world; but we advocate a 
system of education which shall prevent the whole play, 
consisting of such a farce and ending with such a tragedy. 

THE WORTHY, WELL-EDUCATED YOUNG MAN. 

Let us consider for a few minutes, the character of a 
worthy young man, from his early years until he is ready 
to settle himself down in the world, in the western states. 
He goes to school when he is four years old, loves his 
book, his school, his teacher, his parents and friends. He 
is anxious to learn every thing that is useful for him to 
know. He obeys his parents and teachers, and relies 
upon them, and feels grateful towards them for all their 
kindness, care and attention to his wants. His confiding 
disposition, his anxiety to learn, and the consequent rapid 
progress in all his studies, encourage the hearts of his in- 
structors to redouble their exertions to teach him. His 
industrious habits and success in learning conciliate the 
esteem of his equals, and draw towards him^ a favorable 
notice from all persons who happen to know him. Such 
conduct, such success, and, accompanied too by such a 
good disposition of mind, are considered by all his friends 
as certain presages of future greatness, goodness and emi- 
nence. The confidence in himself is encouraged by all 
the tokens of regard that flow in upon him, owing to his 
good behavior, and he presses forward in his course learn- 
ing more and more, faster and better as he proceeds from 
study to study. He stores his youthful mind with use- 
ful facts, apt allusions, and striking ideas, which he knows 
that he can draw out of his storehouse, his mind, as he 
needs them in after life. All that he learns he thoroughly 
learns; thinking closely, intensely, and for a long time, 
until he has methodically laid away in their place, in his 
mind, all the ideas belonmng to all the studies which he 
pursues. He looks at all these, to him, new ideas, in all 
their relations and bearings, until he has melted them down 
in his own mental crucible, so that he can, from this liquid 



ESSAT ON EDUCATION. 5] 

mass, produce new and beautiful forms, such as his pecu- 
liarly constructed mind can bring forth and exhibit as his 



own. 



From his earliest years, he has been taught to read his 
-Bible, to go to church and attend a Sunday school. In 
that Bible, in that church, in that Sunday school, and at 
the fireside, and in all the good books which he reads, he 
learns his duty. He diligently attends on the Sunday 
school, and becomes acquainted with the evidences in fa- 
vor of the truth of revealed religion, and becomes sincere- 
ly attached to the Christian system, and is not ashamed to 
avow his attachment to it and its Author. To his parents, 
instructors, and superiors, in age or station, he renders all 
proper respect and deference, on all occasions. To his 
equals and associates he is bland and open-hearted, kind 
and conciliating, and to his inferiors he is condescending, 
courteous and polite. These are his manners. His dress 
is plain and neat, and he is neither the first to follow the 
fashion, nor the last to leave it, avoiding all extremes, 
and all singularity in his dress, manners, and appearance. 
His politeness springs from real goodwill and a desire to 
please and oblige all with whom he has any intercourse 
or dealings. He is honest and scrupulously just. Rec- 
titude of intention, honesty of action, and an aversion to 
all deceit, from a sense of justice, prevent him from in- 
jurmg others in thought, word, or action. Dishonesty is 
becoming so common in the world, that every young man 
should look into his own bosom, and there subdue all in- 
clination to be guilty of it. It arises from a wish to ap- 
propriate unjustly to our own use, what belongs to ano- 
ther, regardless of the means of acquiring it. A noble 
and a generous spirit will scorn to use base means by 
which to acquire either reputation or property. Dis- 
honesty is the greatest sin of not a few people. It leads 
them to wrong others, by fraud, by theft, forgery, perjury, 
and a long list of crimes which degrade and wholly ruin 
the dishonest man. It leads them into lawsuits and quar- 
rels—into the jail, the house of correction, and the peni- 
tentiary, and some times even to the gallows and to an 
ignominious death. Strict integrity and undeviating rec- 
titude are the bond, and the best bond, of social life, and 



52 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

the hinge on which individual respectability and domestic 
happiness are constantly turning. 

Intemperance in drinking to excess he will always 
avoid. This dreadful vice now fills many a family with 
misery — the jail with inmates, and the penitentiary with 
criminals. It originates frequently in respectable com- 
pany, who drink a cheerful glass of some weak beverage 
to pass off a few minutes of leisure; but, increasing in the 
quantity, and in the quality, and in the frequency of taking 
it, the victim is at last a confirmed drunkard and loses his 
reputation, his friends, his business, property, and health. 
He finally sinks into the grave, a wretched, ruined man. 

In the language of Dr. Blair, "Sobriety of mind includes 
in it moderation, vigilance, and self-government. The 
whole state of the youthful mind is opposed to this com- 
prehensive virtue. To the young man, the world often 
presents in prospect, the most flattering scenes of happi- 
ness. The field of hope presents blossoms on both sides 
of the path that leads through it. Impelled by desire, 
vouth madly rushes forward, credulous, vain, and head- 
strong. But the considerate young man will see, that all 
are not equally prosperous who are apparently born to 
the same fortune. Some, by wise and steady conduct, 
attain to honor, comfort, and happiness; while others, by 
bad conduct, by mean and vicious behavior, involve them- 
selves in misery, and they end their career by becoming 
a disc^race to their friends and a burden on the communi- 
ty. The wise and considerate young man will hence 
see, that much of his own happiness or misery, honor or 
infamy, must depend on his own conduct. At such a mo- 
ment,' the young man must form his plan of life before he 
has committed any irretrievable errors. If at such a cri- 
tical period of his existence he gives himself up to sloth 
and pleasure — if he attend to no counsellor but pleasure 
— if he allow himself to float along down the stream of 
time without any plan of life, but to enjoy himself in fri- 
volous amusements, and criminal pleasures, what can he 
expect from such a bad beginning? Shall any one find 
wealth, fame, learning, honor, or success in any calling, 
without labor, care, dil igence, and great efforts ? Will God 
reverse all his laws for him? No, my young friends, no; 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 53 

because, He has said, "Seek me early and ye shall find 
me;" — "Take heed to your ways, and ponder on the paths 
of your feet;" — "Remember now thy Creator in the days 
of thy youth;" — "Whoso refuseth instruction, shall destroy 
his own soul." By taking heed to these admonitions, 
young men of the United States, you may live the rest of 
your days in prosperity and honor; but by delivering up 
yourselves, in your youthlial days, to levity and giddiness, 
you will lay a broad and durable foundation for heaviness 
of heart. In the course of human affairs, you will always 
find, that a plain understanding, with a good common edu- 
cation, accompanied by a good character for sobriety, 
honesty, industry, and strict attention to business, will do 
more for you than great learning and splendid genius, 
without such virtues as we have named, can do for you. 
Such plain, substantial men have acted the principal parts 
on our theatre of action. Such a character is vigorous; 
it breathes a generous spirit, quickens diligence, is free 
from pernicious pursuits, and lays a foundation for all that 
is high, noble, and honorable among men. Such a man 
was George Washington, the father of his country, and 
such was Benjamin Franklin. In the language of Dr. 
Blair; "Feeble are the attractions of a fair form without, 
where it is suspected that all is worthless ivithin. By 
whatever arts any young man gains a little celebrity at 
first, he cannot expect to keep the hearts of men, except 
by constantly showing the world that he really possesses 
intrinsic good qualities. Such a worthy young man as we 
are portraying, is cheerful, kind and social. Superstition 
does not cloud his brow, sharpen his asperities, deject his 
spirit, nor teach him to fit himself for the other world by 
neglecting this. By attending to all the duties of this life, 
we best prepare ourselves for the next life. Modesty and 
docility in youth are sure indications of rising merit. 
Rashness, self-conceit, and obstinacy are great faults, 
which every ingenuous youth will carefully avoid. Sin- 
cerity and truth are the basis of every virtue. Dissimu- 
lation in youth is likely to grow up into perfidy in old 
age. It degrades the character into meanness, dims all 
the lustre of learning, and brings the offender into con- 
tempt with God and man. To stoop to no meanness, and 



94- ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

to no dissimulation, are indications of a great mind des- 
tined for eminence and distinction." Let him consider 
well his own genius, the situation and circumstances of 
his parents and friends, the place where he lives, the peo- 
ple where he dwells, his own education and inclinations, 
before he fixes on his occupation for life. Let him con- 
sult his parents and the friends whom God has given him 
for his advisers, on a matter of so much consequence to 
him. At the opening, the spring-time of life, however fair 
the field of life may be, all blooming with flowers of every 
hue, the streams may all be full, spajkling as they flow; 
but the summer of middle life shall dry them; all the 
flowers shall fade, die, and fall oft', hoary autumn shall 
come, and "the pale concluding winter" of old age "shall 
shut the whole scenery at last."* Having fixed on a plan 
of life, whether it be to cultivate the earth as a farmer; 
follow some trade, as a mechanic; some profession, as a 
lawyer, doctor, minister of religion, merchant, civil or mi- 
litary engineer, an officer in the army or navy, or a teach- 
er of youth, they all call for, and imperiously demand, all 
the virtues which we have recommended. They all re- 
quire us to cultivate good dispositions, in our hearts, and, 
unless we constantly show the world that we possess 
them, the hold that we may have on the hearts of others 
will be found frail indeed. To all professional young men, 
we say: No matter how learned you are already, unless 
you exert yourselves every moment to keep pace with 
the world around you, your rivals will outrun you in the 
race. No matter how wealthy you are at the start, un- 
less you watch carefully, all your business, your riches 
will take to themselves wings and fly away. 

In this republic, all honest, useful callings are honorable, 
and it requires a good sound education to be useful, very 
useful, in any of them. All persons may not need great 
learning, but they all certainly need true wisdom, and a 
considerable share of intellectual power. We should 
know, and well know, all that our occupation demands 
us to know. Agriculture is an art, and a great art, which 
should be well understood by all that follow it. The prO' 

* Thomson. 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 55 

per culture for the earth, how to prepare it, how to ma- 
nure and mix it with other earths, or cover it with com- 
post or manures; what grain or plants the fann will best 
produce; what crop will be most profitable; what cattle, 
sheep, or hogs we should rear, and how to cross their 
breeds, are all matters of importance. And, above all, 
the farmer should discard from his mind all envying and 
hatred of the people who live in towns, villages, and ci- 
ties. Such a wicked feeling corrodes the heart in which 
it dwells, and leads its narrow-minded votary to oppress 
his fellow-men. There are those who flatter such illi- 
beral men, and appeal to such wicked prejudices for the 
purpose of procuring their votes at our elections. Let 
our farmers beware of such sycophants, who often boast 
of their success, and despise those whom they have de- 
ceived. We are all one people, one body; and a man 
will be as free from pain with his arm, his leg, or, if you 
please, with his little finger, cut off, as the farmers would 
be happy and prosperous could they effect the destruc- 
tion of the merchant, the mechanic, the lawyer, the doc- 
tor, the minister, or school-teacher. They are all neces- 
sary, and may be all useful to each other. Banish from 
our country all the occupations but that of the farmer, 
and blot out all the towns from our political map, and we 
should revert back to the state of pastoral life; or be- 
come perfect Arabs on our wide-spread and boundless 
prairies of the Far West. Every man who has sworn to 
keep our constitution, has in effect sworn that he will pro- 
tect ALL THE PEOPLE in their just rights. His duty and in- 
terest are the same, precisely the same, in this matter. 
These remarks seem to be called for, at this time, and we 
make them, moved by the most friendly feelings towards 
those who follow the same occupation which our own 
father, and father's father, followed for a living. As it 
now often happens, the farmer comes into town, and with 
envy sees the tailor dressed in a sleek new coat; the shoe- 
maker and his family he sees wearing handsome new 
shoes; the blacksmith's horse is well shod; the carriage- 
maker is riding out with his family in a new carriage. 
The farmer walks into the dwelling-house of the cabinet- 
maker, and there sees new bureaus, tables, and bedsteads, 



56 ESSAY ON EDUCATIOX. 

and all sorts of beautiful household furniture, and envy, 
if not hatred, fills the mind of the beholder. But the 
tailor, the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the carriage-maker, 
and the cabinet-maker, procured and made all these things, 
at night, after their customers' work was done, when they 
had nothing else to do, while the farmer and all his family 
were asleep — fast asleep. To procure these fine things 
for his family, the mechanic labors two hours to the far- 
mer's one hour of laboi\ Or, if the envious farmer should 
walk through the apparently rich man's house, in a city, 
and see all his large mirrors and splendid chandeliei's, his 
.sofas, his carpets, and his glittering furniture, his nume- 
rous servants, and all the show, glitter, and glare around 
him, it is ten chances to one that he is in the house of a 
perfect bankrupt then on the very verge of ruin. Soon 
shall the marshal or the sheriff sell all these showy ar- 
ticles at a public sale, and all the inmates of such a house 
be scattered to the four winds, poor, pennyless, unpro- 
vided for, and miserable. And, in losing all the property 
he had, if this man has not lost all the reputation and all 
the friends he ever had, he is more fortunate than most 
such men are. And, as to the envy which a farmer feels 
while he is in a town or city, when he sees some fashion- 
able young lady tripping along on her toes, with her little 
parasol for a staff", and her person all covered over with 
spangles; her face surrounded with artificial flowers, while 
she looks every one full in the face; — or, if he sees some 
young man lounging about — a real loafer (a young gentle- 
man!) — dressed in the height of the fashion, with his gilt 
watch-chain adorning his bosom, fastened to a worthless 
watch in his pocket, — we say, that such creatures are as 
far beneath the farmer's notice, as a lady's lap-dog or a 
baboon. 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 57 



CHAPTER IV. 



INSTRUCTORS. 



But education presupposes teachers; and who are they? 
Although it may be thought by some of our readers to be 
a mere repetition, yet we answer the question, by saying, 
that our teachei's are our parents, and all, and every one, 
who instructs us — teachers of youth by pi-ofession — mini- 
sters of religion; the books which we read, the company 
we keep, the circle we move in, the business we follow, 
the institutions with which we are surrounded — civil, so- 
cial, literary, religious, political, and benevolent. Let 
these be good or bad, elevated or low; be we old or 
young, rich or poor; whether we bear rule or be bowed 
down in slavery, under good or bad masters, we are all 
learning something good or evil, or both, every day of our 
lives, from the cradle to the grave. As wave urges wave 
forward, so all these things are moving us onward, to- 
wards the shore of the eternal world, on which we shall 
all soon land, either in safety, or be wrecked and destroy- 
ed on the coast. And, our school-room is in every place, 
in the whole world, wherever we may happen to be, du- 
ring our whole lives. Just so numerous are our teachers, 
and, so large is our school-house. Such, too, is the length 
of the term of going to school — it is during our whole 
lives. But, although our teachers are so numerous, yet 
our parents, and our teachers by profession, of all sorts, 
are under more and stronger obligations to attend to the 
duty of instructing us, than any other persons. They can 
do more for us, too, than any or all others. He who made 
us parents and gave us children, has commanded us to 
train them up, in early life, for Him, and, He has made it 
the duty of children to obey, love, and fear them and 

8 



58 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

Him. It is the duty of all persons to aid us in this holy 
work of educating the youth of our country. But it is 
the duty of men of wealth, learning, and high stations 
in society more especially to educate the youth of the 
nation. 

Keeping in view the great, general objects of educa- 
tion, some of our duties as teachers gi'ow out of the cir- 
cumstances which surround us, such as the country and 
the age in which we live, and the dangers to which we 
are peculiarly exposed. Our government is republican, 
where the only sovereign who reigns in the country is, 
The Sovereign People. To make this sovereign a wise 
and a good one, he must be so educated and brought up, 
that he will be wise and good. In such a country, it 
is not enough to have in it a few wise men, a few good 
ones; but a majority of the whole mass must be wise and 
good, or the sovereign will rule us with the rod of op- 
pression. Suppose, for a moment, that we had one-fourth 
or even one-third of those who vote at our elections, (and 
so rule the country,) well-educated, intelligent, virtuous, 
and patriotic, and the other two-thirds of the voters, if 
ignorant, vicious, and worthless, we might have the very 
worst government in Christendom. Hence the necessity 
of universal education, where universal suffi'age governs 
any country. The teachers of such a country are, in 
fact, the most important persons in the land, because the 
liberties of the country are in their safe keeping. They 
are the real, and, indeed we might say, that they are the 
only officiating priests in this temple of freedom. They 
are of more importance than the uneducated warrior, 
because, without instructors, in this age of science, in the 
art of war, all our exertions against a foreign enemy, 
would be useless and unavailing. And, besides, that day 
we hope is not very distant when wars will cease; when 
a Sun shall arise, eclipse all the glare of military glory, and 
wither all the laurels on the bloody heroe's brow. We 
have in the state of Ohio alone, at least four hundred thou- 
sand parents, — we have two thousand preachers of the 
gospel, and twenty thousand teachers of youth, in our 
week-day and Sunday-schools, What a mighty host of 
teachers of youth! If all these teachers did their duty to 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. .39 

themselves and to their proper pupils, what a vast a.mount 
of useful knowledge might be conveyed into the minds of 
our people? We have merely hinted as yet, at the high, 
important, and dignified station which the professional 
teacher occupies in a nation like this, from the political 
institutions of this country. He should be thoroughly ac- 
quainted with all our institutions of all sorts, inasmuch as 
he can draw no, or almost no aid from foreign sources, 
because no European lives in a country governed as this 
is, by UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE. No one has told us enough, 
of the moral, literary, scientific, and political dignity of 
the professional Teacher. Those who are educating either 
themselves or others as they ought to be educated, are 
preparing themselves or others to become useful, prosper- 
ous, and happy citizens. They are doing more — they are 
preparing themselves and others to enter on a state of fe- 
licity, never-ending, such as no tongue can tell, no ima- 
gination conceive. Without a host, a great and mighty 
host of good teachers, constantly employed in every por- 
tion of our country, in training up our children and youth 
in the ways of truth and righteousness, our republican 
institutions will, and 7)iust perish, and we, as a free people, 
be blotted out of the list of free nations. 

As to THE QUALIFICATIONS OF TEACHERS, we dcsire them 
to possess an intellect, strong, vigorous, prompt, and in- 
quisitive, — a temper open, generous, cheerful, noble, for- 
giving, condescending and kind; full of tenderness, and 
alive to every social feeling, ardent, and at the same time en- 
terprising and persevering. They should love their employ- 
ment and be fond of children. They should be industrious, 
active, vigilant, and easy of access. They should always be 
ready to enter into all the little incidents of a child's life, 
so as to turn them all into lessons of wisdom. They should 
maintain a strictly impartial government over their pupils, 
and never permit any of their scholars to tyrannize over 
their fellow-pupils. Teachers should govern their own 
spirits on all occasions. The very first step towards go- 
verning others is to govern ourselves. This remark ap- 
plies to all who command men. Those great and mighty 
men, who have commanded armies and navies which 
have achieved victories, great, splendid, and glorious, were 



60 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

cool, collected, and calm in danger, and in the battle. 
Without possessing this self-government, no one is fit to 
teach a school, govern a family, or pass through life in any 
station with reputation, honor, or usefulness. Their lite- 
rary and scientific acquirements cannot be too good nor 
too great to fit them to teach even the youngest child. 
To teach any one of our common schools, the teacher 
should be a good reader, one who could spell and pro- 
nounce correctly, every word in our language, write 
every sort of hand in use, understand book-keeping, Eng- 
lish grammar, arithmetic, geography, history, especially 
of our own country, and be well acquainted with our con- 
stitution and the institutions, resting on its provisions as a 
foundation. All these things should bo entirely familiar 
to the teacher, so that he or she perfectly understands 
them. In addition to all which knowledge, there should 
be a faculty of conveying all their information to their 
pupils, so that they may entirely and perfectly understand 
and fully comprehend all the ideas belonging to the seve- 
ral branches of learning which they teach. We have seen 
teachers who appeared to know more than they could 
well teach others. We do know some teachers, how- 
ever, w^lio possess the faculty of conveying knowledge in 
so clear and perfect a manner, that we have sometimes 
feared that their scholars would rely too much on the 
teacher's instruction, at recitation, and so would neglect 
to study their lessons as thoroughly as they ought to do. 
Such instructors, as those whom we have last referred 
to, being confined mostly, in this state, to Cincinnati, we 
need say no more on that failing, if it be one. There is 
more danger to be apprehended, perhaps, in this state, of 
young men being employed as teachers, while they are 
studying some profession themselves; and, of their study- 
ing their own lesson and neglef^ting to teach their scholars 
theirs! For parents to spend their money in educating 
the young men who travel over the land teaching school, 
to collect the means of educating themselves, and study- 
ing, instead of teaching, is neither just nor profitable to 
those who are thus imposed on by such young men. Every 
teacher should understand vocal music well, and be able 
to teach that branch of learning. Every school should 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 61 

be opened with the Lord's prayer, every scholar standing 
on his feet and audibly repeating it. This being done, the 
teacher should point to his gamut-board, sounding every 
note, backwards and forwards, every scholar accompany- 
ing the teacher with his or her clear voice until the in- 
structor points to the notes of some full tune, which being 
sung by the notes correctly, it may then be sung by the 
words set to it, while every little eye in the school-room 
sparkles with delight, and every little voice is heard clear- 
ly joining in the song. 

in his or her manners, every teacher of any school 
should be, if a man, a perfect gentleman — if a woman, a 
perfect lady. Children always catch the manners of 
their parents, their teachers, and their associates; more 
especially all their singularities, rudeness, and every thing 
vicious or bad. Hence, we see the absolute necessity of 
employing only pei^sons of good manners, good principles, 
and pure morals, as instructors and companions of children 
and youth. So apparent are these truths to all persons 
of reflection and observation, that we need only mention 
them in order to gain the assent of all well-informed pa- 
rents and guardians. But, however apparent these truths 
are, we feel it our duty to add, that teachers of youth can 
only teach what they themselves thoroughly understand 
and knoio; and what they love and are imbued with; how 
then, can a rough boor of a man, or a coarse virago of a 
woman, teach gentleness of manners, mildness, kindness, 
benevolence of disposition, respect for superiors, condes- 
cension to inferiors, and politeness to equals? How can 
a vicious man, or woman, teach virtue? Example is 
better than precept, and, unless they accompany each 
other, we should doubt the success of the latter, where 
the former was wanting. 

Thousands have been everlastingly ruined by being 
placed under the instruction of unprincipled teachers. A 
drunkard, a gambler, a profane swearer, a sabbath-breaker, 
an infidel, and- a dishonest man, should never undertake 
to instruct children or youth; even to teach them their 
letters, much less any profession, art, or trade. Such 
wicked men will have enough to answer for, when called 
on to account for the destrutstion of their own souls, with- 



62 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

out superadding to their guilt, the ruin of the souls of 
others, who were placed under their care and superin- 
tendence. How often are orphans apprenticed to men, 
for the purpose of learning some trade, whose education 
and morals are shamefully neglected? The laws of the 
land may never reach such delinquents, but their punish- 
ment is sure, and not very distant. There is an Eye that 
sees all their sins, and a Hand that will reach them and 
punish them. The orphan's tears, sighs, and groans, un- 
der the oppression of cruel and unfeeling masters and 
mistresses, are all numbered, seen, heard, and every one 
of them is taken down in a book, which will be opened 
and read to the guilty, before an assembled universe. 

But we return to the professional teachers of youth, and 
say, that for them and their pupils to copy after, in their 
manners, morals, principles, precepts, and examples, we 
propose to them, the Great Teacher of mankind, Jesus, 
their friend and Saviour. He was patient to hear and 
answer all the questions put to him by his disciples, al- 
though these often showed the most profound ignorance 
of the inquirers, yet he bore with them, and brought them 
along by degrees in knowledge. He was kind to them, 
mingling in all their griefs, and sympathising with them 
in all their sorrows. He was sociable and accessible to 
all around him, the old and the young, the rich and the 
poor, the learned and the ignorant. He was dignified 
without hauteur or pride, condescending, without mean- 
ness or subserviency. Open-hearted and sincere, he con- 
cealed no danger from his disciples, to which their adhe- 
rence to him would expose them. To his friends, he was 
kind and affectionate, to his enemies noble and forgiving. 
And although he well knew, that one of his disciples would 
betray him for thirty pieces of silver, yet he bore with 
him to the very last; set before him a good example, and 
taught him as well, and as faithfully, as he did the rest of 
his followers. He even indulged Judas in his'favorite 
propensity, avarice, so far as to permit him to carry the 
common purse, which contained all the treasure which 
Jesus and his disciples possessed. The indulgence and 
forbearance towai'ds Judas, show Jesus in an amiable 
point of view, as a kind and indulgent master. We may 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 63^' 

see all around us, every day of our lives, persons whose 
habits and wicked propensities, we may well suppose, 
will certainly lead them to ruin here and hereafter, and 
yet, our warnings, reproofs, and examples ought to 
be the same to them, as if we had the sti'ongest rea- 
sons to hope, that our labors of love, would produce 
the most salutary effect on them. In other words, we 
must always do our duty, be the result what it may. We 
may, and we shall, if we love them, weep over them, as 
Jesus did, over Jerusalem, when he beheld that wicked 
city, and foresaw its awful doom. We may, we mnst 
beseech them with meekness, to turn from the error of 
their ways, although they appear to us to be incorrigible 
sinners. And in such cases, it is the teacher's duty to 
labor the more with such, apparently lost human beings, 
to save them, if possible, from everlasting ruin, so that, if 
they will perish, through obstinacy and rebellion against 
the laws of God and the rules and regulations of the 
school, their final destruction shall rest on their own guilty 
heads. Even severe punishment in such cases may be 
resorted to, and necessary sometimes, when all milder 
means have wholly failed to reform such offenders. But 
mildness, kindness, indulgence towards persons of natu- 
rally good dispositions, except in extreme instances, are 
best. Anger, rashness, and precipitancy, should always 
be avoided by the teacher, in the government of his school. 
We proceed and say of our Saviour, that He has taught 
us by his example, to respect our superiors, be sociable 
with our equals, and to our inferiors be condescending 
and polite. From first to last, he maintained the most 
rigid self-government. His whole public life was one of 
trial. Although he went about doing good, healing the 
sick, restoring sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, hear- 
ing to the deaf, soundness of limbs to the lame, casting 
out devils, and even restoring the dead to life, without 
fee or reward ; yet, few persons believed on him, scarce- 
ly one even thanked him, for his benevolent services, and 
few followed him ; but he was always himself, never re- 
pining or complaining on account of their unkindness to- 
wards their Lord and Master. In fine, he governed him- 
self, on the most painful and trying occasions, even in his 



64 ESSAY ON EDUCATION* 

last agony. Go to Gethsemane, and hear him order a 
few of his disciples to watch, or, keep guard for him, un- 
til he returned to them. He left them on guard, but when 
he returned to them, he found his sentinels fast asleep! 
And what did he say? "What! could ye not watch with 
me one hour?" was his mild rebuke. He used just means 
enough to keep the most perfect order, and no more 
means were used by him. Not a spiteful or angry word 
did he ever utter on any occasion. A mere look, when 
that was sufficient, was all the rebuke which he gave. A 
mere look, though, on Peter, when he denied his Lord, 
the third time, brought tears into his eyes and contrition 
into his heart. "He went out and wept bitterly." When 
a mere look was not sufficient to convey his full meaning, 
just words enough were added to the look, to answer his 
purpose. Just before he expired, his aged mother and his 
beloved disciple stood near his cross, sympathizing with 
him, in his dying agonies. He wished to provide a home 
for his mother, and looking at John, he said, "Behold thy 
mother;" and looking on her, he said, "Behold thy son." 
From that day forth, during her life, Mary became an in- 
mate of John's family, the same as if she had been his real 
mother. He used no whips on his scholars' backs, and 
kept none in his school-house. Though he had his parti- 
cular fivorites, yet he never suffi^red any one scholar to 
tyrannize over the rest. Though he was condescending 
and kind, yet he was faithful in his rebukes. Generally, 
he was mild in these, yet sometimes he spake with stern- 
ness, when he said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan, 
for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those 
that be of man." Naturally of a good disposition, yet 
warm in his temper, Jesus bore with him, and was patient 
but reprimanded him when hast}^ He was industrious in 
his calling, devoting up all his time to its duties. He loved 
his profession, he so loved it, and his pupils, that he gave 
up, even his life itself for them. He had nothing of auste- 
rity about him — in his dress, address, or manners. He 
practised no arts to gain applause, affected no singulari- 
ties of behavior, but every where, whether standing on 
the mountain, addressing assembled thousands, or in the 
temple performing miracles, or in his fishing-boat on the 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 65 

lake, or seated at table, surrounded by his small school, 
he was always the same, sedate, dignified, mild, amiable, 
kind, faithful,' patient, selt-poised, exemplary, and devoted 
Teacher. He has thus ennobled and sanctified this high, 
holv, useful, noble calling. Let all those \yho are now, 
or, ever become teachers, go forth in his spirit and always 
follow the example, set by the great Teacher of mankind. 
Whatever precepts they lay down for their scholars to 
observe, the teachers must show that they live up to their 
own rules. This remark applies to parents too. Let a 
father warn his son against any vice, ever so faithfully, 
yet if he, himself, is guilty of it, in a small degree, the son 
will find it out, and, disregarding the fliithful warning, he 
will run to total ruin by following the vicious example. 
How often has it happened, that, when the son had done 
some wicked act, the parent, though he reprimanded him 
for it, yet by his smile, showed that he considered it quite 
smart in the young offender? The boy moved forward 
in his wicked course, until he was ruined forever. 

There is an awful mistake, we fear, sometimes made by 
parents in making professional men of their sons, who are 
utterly unfit for any such employment. A farmer finds 
his son a cripple, or infirm in body, or lazy, slothful, or 
naturally dull, stupid, and rather below par, as to mental 
faculties, and so he must be educated for a doctor, a law- 
yer, or a minister! No words can sufficiently convey 
our condemnation of such folly and madness as this. To 
be a professional man, it requires a sound mind in a sound 
body. What! set up a cripple, a fool, an ass, a mere dolt, 
to be the world's laughing-stock! To render him miser- 
able for life, and finally end it, as a burden on the com- 
munity, and a disgrace to his parents! Shame on such 
folly. We do not say, because we do not know, that 
such a case ever occurred in the West, but we do know 
that such instances could be found in New England, and 
they one and all have proved the folly which produced 
them. 

To send out such a poor creature, as a missionary of 
any sort, either into our own, or foreign lands, is worse 
^an sacrilege. Such a creature, should he ever be sent 





66 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

to the heathen, would go out, occasionally, we suppose^, 
and give away a pamphlet, to some pagan, who would 
light his pipe with it; the missionary would set down in 
his journal, this benevolent act of his! He had given 
away, what never cost him any thing, but it had cost 
somebody one half cent! He sounds his trumpet on the 
occasion of giving away a few leaves of paper, so that all 
the world hears it, — "May the Lord add his blessing!" 
Oh! it is loathesome to see such a profession so shamefully 
prostituted! The same God who formerly required a sa- 
crifice to be without blemish, requires the same unblemish- 
ed sacrifice now. The halt, the maimed, the blind, the 
lazy, the dull, the stupid, the self-conceited, the obstinate, 
the overbearing, proud, impudent, low-minded, and mean, 
should never officiate at the altar, teach a school, plead 
law, practise medicine, or keep a store. Such a creature 
is but poorly qualified even for our penitentiary. Our In- 
dians keep all their deformed people out of sight, as much 
as possible — so of their idiots and silly people, of both 
sexes. In so doing, they show their wisdom. They have 
towns where the dwarfs, idiots, and naturally deformed 
people dwell by themselves, instead of making profession- 
al men of them, or sending them to the legislature. 

Some parents ruin their sons by placing them in some 
particular profession or calling, for which they are in no- 
wise fitted by nature, although they are well fitted for 
some other profession or calling. For instance, if the son 
be stupid and dull, they make him a clergyman: if of a 
sly, roguish turn, they make him a lawyer: and, if given 
to impure and low desires, they make him a physician. 
As well might the parents get a cowardly son appointed 
an officer in the navy or army. The minister of religion 
should be, if possible, the most brilliant orator in all the 
land. To a beautiful person, should be added a beautiful 
mind, polished and brilliant as the diamond, whose light 
would shine into far distant countries; whose voice would 
be heard by listening and enraptured thousands on thou- 
sands, proclaiming the glad tidmgs of the everlasting gos- 
pel; drawing around him throngs, eager to hear him; 
whose precepts and example would turn thousands to 
righteousness, so that he who performed such wonders 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. "?»- 67 

would shine like a star of the first magnitude in the hea- 
vens, forever and ever. Such a man should be a clergy- 
man. 

But, although we have said that such a splendid man 
should be a clergyman, we by no means would say, that 
none but such a gifted man should follow that profession. 
Doubtless, many clergymen of inferior qualifications, to 
such splendid ones, may be, and often are, very useful 
ministers of religion. St. Paul was the most learned and 
eloquent of all the apostles, and he accomplished a great 
deal more good, than any other one of them; yet Peter, 
who was quite unlettered, as his writings show, was high- 
ly useful as a preacher. He traversed many countries, 
and he was instrumental in planting many churches, and, 
of doing a vast deal of good. His zeal, warmth, activity, 
energy, and enterprize, carried all before them, wherever 
he preached, and not a few Christians look on Peter, as 
"the chiefest apostle." Wherever we find a minister of 
real piety, zealous, ardent, energetic, and enterprising, 
going about and doing good, we hail him, as a useful la- 
borer in his Lord's vineyard. And, besides, it is not al- 
ways certain, that the most talented, learned, and elo- 
quent preacher is the most useful one. Such an one, in 
any large city, will draw crowds to hear him, out of mere 
curiosity, or, because it is the fashion to do so ; but it does 
not follow, as a matter of course, that of all the crowd 
who hear him as they do a favorite actor or actress on 
the stage, even one soul is converted under his preach- 
ing. It is not the preacher, but the Saviour who converts 
sinners. Paul tells us, that he preached Jesus and him 
crucified. Some ministers appear to preach themselves, 
not their Saviour. It requires something more than a 
mere beautiful, well-written discourse, eloquently deliver- 
ed, such an one as all shall praise who hear it, as they 
would were they to hear Cicero or Demosthenes in the 
forum, to do much good — to reach the hearts of sinners 
&nd turn them to righteousness. "Paul may plant, and 
Apollos may water the good seed, but it is God who giv- 
eth the increase." Unless accompanied by the good in- 
fluences of his spirit, all preaching is in vain, and worse 
than in vain. How often have men of inferior talents, 



68 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

but of real piety, who besought sinners in meekness to 
see the error of their ways, been wonderfully blessed in 
the results of their labors, whereas, men of great talents, 
learning, and eloquence, have sometimes done little or 
no good? It requires something more than mere human 
learning to qualify any man to become a good, efficient, 
and successful minister of the gospel — it requires a hea- 
venly birth, and a heart purified by divine grace, a will 
subdued to the will of God, and affections placed su- 
premely on Him, his Son, and Spirit. Without this last 
qualification, his preaching will be vain, and himself must 
finally be excluded from heaven, and be cast into outer 
darkness forever. His learning, eloquence, and all the 
applauses of men will not save him, nor his hearers from 
perdition. 

A sly rogue, a lawyer! Who would employ such an 
one? No one; and he would be compelled to turn poli- 
tician, playing off his tricks and deceiving the people, pre- 
tending to be deeply in love with them. Why, we might 
as well deliver over our purses full of gold to a pickpocket 
for safe keeping, as place such a man in power. He 
would deceive us, plunder and rob us of all the public 
money, which reached his light fingers. Our lawyers, in 
addition to robust, sound, well-formed, vigorous bodies, 
should possess quick, sharp, deep intellects, and a finished 
education — one that should embrace every art, and eveiy 
science. They should be thoroughly acquainted with all 
sorts of people, of every calling, sect, station, and age. 
Every law, written or unwritten, should be familiar to 
them. To the men of this profession, we are greatly in- 
debted for our revolution, our several state constitutions, 
our UMtional Union, our laws, and almost all our institu- 
tions, civil, social, and benevolent. The lawyers were 
among the first to resist the oppressions t)f the British Par- 
liamen*, and to rouse the people into activity and resist- 
ance ;igainst the encroachments on the rights of freemen. 
By th?ir eloquence, energy, and noble daring, they shook 
down England's throne, in these then colonies. The 
lawyers of whom we are speaking, resisted the efforts of 
tiic English Parliament to enslave us, in the popular as- 
semblies, in the legislative hall, and finally, in the field of 



I 



KSSAY ON EDUCATION. 69 

battle. Their eloquence enlightened our people, so did 
their writings and their official reports. Every speech 
delivered by them, and every essay which they wrote, 
told on the hearts of their countrymen, and every blow 
which they struck on our enemy, aided to prostrate him 
in the dust. Liberty and free government in every clime, 
is indebted to their exertions in the holy cause of freedom. 
A lawyer — a tricking politician! Such lawyers were 
not Patrick Henry, John Jay, John Adams, Robert R. 
Livingston, Alexander Hamilton, and a long, long list of 
patriots, heroes, and sages, who achieved our indepen- 
dence. No; they were nature's noblemen, who scorned 
all iniquity. They stooped to no intrigues, no dissimula- 
tion, and no guile, to accomplish their noble and glorious 
purposes. They loathed all cupidity, and so open-heart- 
ed were they, that all the world were welcome to see 
and know all that their hearts contained, and all the 
thoughts that dwelt in them. Give us more such law- 
yers, and not tricking, truckling, political knaves, who 
gain a living by professing unbounded love for the people, 
and, by holding offices, for which they have not even one 
well-founded pretension. The slippery elm is the only 
tree in our forests which they should ever be permitted 
to use as their emblem. 

The physician, the doctor, should be the most pure- 
minded man in all the land, otherwise, who would em- 
ploy him as his family physician? Should a physician, of 
a loose moral character, even venture to step into the 
house of a wealthy and reputable matron, would he not 
be instantly requested to walk out of it? Certainly, and 
he would soon become so chaste^ as to be driven away 
from every decent man's door. As a model for the imi- 
tation of all doctors of medicine, we would refer them 
to the great Physician of mankind. He went about heal- 
ing the sick of both sexes, and of all ages, acting as their 
family physician. His patience, sympathy, kindness, and 
benevolence, are far above our feeble praises. Let the 
physicians follow Him in his intercourse with the sick. 
He readily entered into all the sorrows and afflictions of 
his patients, and sympathized with them. See him at the 
grave of Lazarus, when "Jesus wept." He knew that in 



70 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

a few minutes more, Lazarus would be raised to life and 
health, and be restored to his friends, yet, sympathizing 
with the afflicted friends, he wept for their affliction and 
grief. Let our physician follow his example, and go about 
doing good, sympathizing with their afflicted patients, 
and their relatives and friends. All this is necessary for 
the physician to do, in addition to closely studying all 
that has been written on medicine, by the great, learned, 
benevolent, and good men of his highly honorable and 
useful profession. 

The whole business of a physician, is nearly allied to 
that of the Great Physician, especially, where the patient 
is poor and unable to pay for medical aid. Hence it is 
easy to see, that an unkind, morose, unfeeling, avaricious 
man should never practice medicine. 



CHAPTER V. 



BOOKS. 



These are our instructors and companions. It follows, 
as a matter of course, that they should be full of sound 
instruction, be entertaining, agreeable, interesting, good, 
and pure. To be such, they must be the offspring of 
sound, sensible, well-informed, sociable, agreeable, good, 
and pure minds. Like begets its own likeness, so that a 
light, trifling, illiterate, self-conceited, rash, obstinate, 
headstrong, inexperienced young man, will either purloin 
from other men's works, or, he will produce his own like- 
ness. Such creatures often combine together, and praise 
each others' puerile trash, and in that way gain a mo- 
mentary ascendancy, but in the end, they must all go 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 71 

down into oblivious night, and be forgotten. The read- 
ing of such books is a defect, and no small one either, in 
our day; Not a few of our books have been produced by- 
just such worthless men as we have above described. 
Their self-conceit is unbounded, and their impudence is 
equal to their self-complacency. Illitei'ate creatures, who 
are mere printers, have sometimes set themselves up as 
"Reviewers" of other men's writings! which, from their 
ignorance and destitution of talents of all sorts, they pos- 
sessed not the means of understanding the authors whom 
they pretended to review. It is matter of regret, deep 
regret, that men of genius, science, and sound literature, 
do not oftener write books for children and youth. Men 
of sound learning, and exquisite taste, of pure morals and 
good principles, should write books for young people. 
Such men act as if they thought such labors beneath their 
dignity. He who has said, "Suffer little children to come 
unto me," lost none of his dignity by saying so, nor by 
condescending to teach and bless them, and even to lay 
down his own life for them. No man or woman in our 
country, no matter how high in station or wealth, however 
wise, learned, pure and good he or she may be, will lose 
a particle of dignity by writing books, good books for 
children and youth. Who thinks the less of that great, 
good, pure, and patriotic man, Chief-Justice Marshall, be- 
cause he wrote a life of General Washington, for the use 
of schools? The more learned, pure, patriotic, and good 
any man or woman is, the better fitted is he or she to 
write books for the youth of our country to read. Con- 
nected with such a man's or woman's memory, which will 
follow him or her into his or her grave, will be the love 
and veneration of parents and children. Such men and 
women best serve God and their country, and they de- 
serve more honor, love, and veneration from posterity, 
than all the politicians that ever lived on earth in any age 
or country. Such men and women shall have a higher 
seat in heavon, than all ;fche/ *»iglyt}f!(<Wi*»quer'>r^.whp.JiJj,y^ 
filled the earth with strife and misery. 

In Europe, of late years, the greatest men there have 
turned their attention towards instructing the great mass 
of the people, and their labors shame us, republicans, who 



72 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

pretend so much to love the people — the dear people* 
We do not call on our politicians to write books for any 
man, woman, or child to read, because they are unable to 
produce any thing worthy of being read. But our older 
professional men, such as have retired from their profes- 
sions, might devote their last years to the good of their 
country, by becoming authors for posterity. 

Among the errors in mental and moral education, we 
may, with propriety condemn the manner of writing 
nearly all the books now used in our schools. Many of 
these works, contain only pictures, questions, and their 
anwers. All such works deserve to be thrown into the 
fire forthwith, or be used as waste paper. In the first 
place, these books occupy just about double the amount 
of paper and bulk that they ought to do — they swell the 
little volume into a size, which the intrinsic matter would 
not make large enough to sell for a certain price. And, 
secondly, such books aim at loading the memory with 
words, which the scholar never understands. To im- 
prove the memory, at the expense of all the other facul- 
ties, is bad indeed. But many of these worthless books, 
such as consist of pictures, and the answers "yes" and 
"no," do not even improve the memory. In one short 
month, the pupil forgets both questions and answers. 
Until parrots are sent to school to be educated, such 
school-books should never be introduced among us. Rea- 
sonable beings should be taught to exercise their reason- 
ing faculties, to store their minds with useful facts, and to 
love useful knowledge. Those who have only learned 
words, at the expense of much time and labor, are gene- 
rally vain of their superficial acquirements, and are quite 
pedantic in their manners. A mere repetition of words, 
makes pedants; but a deeper learning makes men modest 
in the view of how little they know, compared with what 
they have not yet learned. To be able to pour out a de- 
luge of words, without any ideas, except very superficial 
enfts^ ^implies *somethittg'..3in«ry different fi^om profoO'nd 
knowledge. Which is preferable, the wordy orator, or the 
profound and learned one ? Varents, teachers, and books 
should begin right with the pupil — they should lead along 
the child in the right road, as far as they go; so that when 



ESSAT ON EDUCATION. 73 

he is left to his own exertions, after they have turned 
back, or stopped by the wayside, he will have nothing to 
do but to proceed onward in the same path in which he 
has been already conducted. In that case, he is led by 
easy steps in the right road, and, whether he proceed a 
great or a short distance, his steps are always in a direct 
line towards the goal of all his wishes. He sees things on 
the way clearly, as he walks in the clear daylight. In 
the former case, when he merely learns the words of an 
answer, the pupil walks in a dense fog, sees nothing 
clearly, and wanders far from the right road, and never 
arrives at the temples of either knowledge, usefulness, or 
fame. 

Such a young man, with such a superficial education, 
generally joins some debating society, and on all occa- 
sions, without a particle of correct knowledge, rises and 
pours forth a copious shower of words, without ideas, 
sense, or reason. This volubility, however, strikes the 
imaginations of "the ignorant groundlings," as something 
extraordinary, and he soon reaches the bar, as a great 
talker. He next becomes, in his own opinion, a great 
politician, a great republican, and a great man. He is 
elected to the House of Assembly, and there makes his 
wonderful display of — words! Here, his self-conceit, his 
cool impudence, his hard words, but soft ideas — his lofty 
gait, and overweening ambition, raise him to the Speaker's 
chair! Having raised himself to this bad eminence, his 
folly, and utter worthlessness become too apparent to be 
concealed from the eyes even of the most superficial crea- 
tures in all the land; and, he sinks into his own original 
nothingness, never to raise his head again above the sur- 
face of society. We refer to no particular case here, be- 
cause there have been several such cases in the state of 
Ohio. 

All who wish to have the name of being learned, without 
the labor of really obtaining much useful knowledge, are 
fond, and always will be fond, of such question and an- 
swer books. And all such teachers as wish to have the 
name of great and successful teachers, without the labor 
of teaching their pupils any thing, so that it will be well 

10 



74 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

understood by them, will always praise such books as we 
are condemning. So of those authors and booksellers, 
who wish to save themselves labor and expense in com- 
piling and publishing books, will continue to deluge the 
country with such worthless trash. Besides, such books 
are losing all their credit in the East, and will be shoved 
oft" into the West, for sale. All such persons will cry out 
against any valuable improvements in our school-books 
here, as Alexander the coppersmith did, when Paul preach- 
ed at Ephesus against the worship of idols — "Great is 
Diana of the Ephesians! great is Diana of the Ephesians!" 
We set down all the question and answer books, used in 
schools, among the defective modes in education, and 
highly injurious to the cause of sound learning among us. 
Such a combination, however, in their favor, as we have 
named, will fight hard for their ill-gotten gains; but, like 
the idols at Ephesus, they will finally cease to be the ob- 
jects of popular veneration, and they will go down to 
the grave of oblivion with their authors and worshippers 
— the sooner the better for us. 

We want a history of the United States, for the use of 
schools. The histories we now have are poorly written. 
They dwell long on trifles, and pass over too lightly the 
most important events. In fine, they have not even one 
good quality, whereas, we have among us, a native au- 
thor, who, with all his witchery of style, could write a 
history of the United States, which would be read by 
every man, woman, and child in this country. It would 
continue to be read, for ages, in all our schools, and do a 
vast deal of good. 

If we consider the reading of history merely as an ele- 
gant amusement, it is highly valuable, but its uses are 
higher, nobler, and better than what merely amuses us. 
Even in that case it is preferable to novel reading, which 
inflames the passions and gives us false views of human 
life. The reading of history enlightens the judgment 
upon subjects of utility and comfort to us as individuals; 
and, to the whole community. We learn to view man, 
in all his social relations, and to duly estimate the dif- 
ferent systems of government as they operate on whole 
nations. History warns nations of all the quicksands, 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 75 

rocks, whirlpools, currents, and dangers on the ocean of 
human life. It points out all the safe harbors, and be- 
comes A GREAT REVOLVING LIGHT, placed on cach summit 
of the beacons which it rears on the promontories, jut- 
ting out into the sea of human life. It too often happens, 
in the transactions of life, that the men in power, who 
are guilty of corruption and depravity of all sorts, are not 
condemned, as they deserve to be, and they are some- 
times even hailed with applause by their sycophants, 
supple tools, flatterers, and partisans. Such creatures 
even affect to treat with scorn honest integrity and faith- 
ful public services. Such wicked men deny the doctrine 
of those who tell us, that political iniquity will be punish- 
ed sooner or later. History furnishes an antidote to the 
maxims of such pernicious men. It exhibits the whole 
career and final catastrophe of error, vice, and wicked- 
ness. It shows us Haman hanging on the very same gal- 
lows which he had erected for Mordecai. It exhibits the 
wily politician caught in the very toils which he had 
spread for his honest rival's feet. In our history should 
be recorded, not merely the actions and doings of Wash- 
ington, and the sages and heroes of his iime, but it 
should tell us what they said, on great and trying occa- 
sions. In this way, our youth might be led to properly 
estimate the characters and principles of those pure and 
disinterested patriots; and a history conveying such a 
knowledge, would lead them to imbibe all the high, noble, 
and holy aspirations of our ancestors. However appli- 
cable our remarks may be to the few in high offices, yet 
they are not inapplicable to all classes of men in a coun- 
try where all have an influence on all the operations of 
the government. This consideration shows us, that all 
our people should well understand our whole history. So 
long as our people remember the sayings and doings of 
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and the 
patriots of both sexes, of that day, no worthless politician 
can enslave us. History makes us love our country more, 
and prize our liberties higher, when we read of the battles 
of Bunker Hill, of Saratoga, of Yorktown, of Bridge- 
water, of Tippecanoe, of Fort Meigs, of the Thames, and 
of New Orleans. The blood moves swiftly through oui 



76 ESSAY ON EDUCATrON. 

whole system when we read of the victories of Wayne, 
on the land, and of Perry, MoDonough, Hull, and Bain- 
bridge on the waves. The history of any country, which 
has been signahzed by great displays of human genius, 
either in arts or arms, interests all mankind in their fate. 
History transports us to Greece and Italy, and there ex- 
hibits to us the council of the Amphyctions and the Ro- 
man Senate — the fleets of Greece, and the battle of Ac- 
tium. We hear the thunders of Demosthenes against 
Philip, and of Cicero against Cataline and Mark Antony. 
We see the splendid temples of these nations, their sta- 
tues, their paintings, and we become' acquainted with the 
manners, the institutions, and laws of those ancient re- 
publics. We see them rise from small beginnings to great- 
ness, renown, and glory, by the practice of the sturdy 
virtues, and we see, too, their decline, fall, and final ruin, 
through their vices. Whoever sees an Italian, without 
thinking of Cicero, Horace, Virgil, and Julius and Augus- 
tus Caesar? or a Greek, without remembering Athens, Ho- 
mer, and Demosthenes? When our own history is 
known all over the world: whoever shall see, in any part 
of it an American, he will remember Washington, and 
think the better of the individual for being his country- 
man. Our institutions are so different from those of any 
other nation, that our youth should all early read our his- 
tory, and imbibe all the principles lying at the bottom of 
them. It must be our care to educate all our youth, so 
that they may become American citizens. Simple as our 
state and national governments are, in theory and prac- 
tice, yet not one in ten thousand of the best-informed men 
in Europe understands them. Our history must be writ- 
ten by an American; and we are so fortunate, in this re- 
spect, as to have among us a native-born American who 
is one of the very best writers now living in the world. 
He must write a history of this nation, for all our youth 
to read in our schools. 

We have another reason to offer, for our anxious de- 
sire to see a well-written history of the United States 
placed in the hands of every youth of both sexes in the 
nation. Our history, correctly written, would show us 
how often we have been solely indebted for our preserva- 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 77 . 

tion to the interposition of Divine Providence in our fa- 
vor. We will recal to the reader's recollection a few 
such interpositions in our favor. When Washington was 
on Long Island, with our whole army there stationed, to 
protect^the city of New York, he was assailed by an over- 
whelming force of the enemy, and nothing could have 
saved him and all his army from total ruin, but a thick 
fog, which concealed him, his army, and all their move- 
ments, from the view of the enemy, until our defenders 
made their escape to the main land in safety. So when 
the nation was overwhelmed with discomfiture in all di- 
rections, without money, food, or raiment for their army 
— without the means of defence, their spirits were bro- 
ken, and they were ready to despair of success. Their 
army consisted of only three thousand, ragged, starving 
men, whose feet were without shoes, but bound up with 
old rags, and dyed with the blood of the feet which they 
covered. Their march might be traced by the blood 
which stained the snow, the ice, and the frozen ground 
on which they walked. In dead winter's dreary night, 
Washington, at the head of such an army, crossed the De- 
laware, then providentially in a state to be forded, and 
captured the enemy's outposts in New Jersey. The 
spirit of the nation revived, and our fathers moved on- 
ward to new enterprises, and they successfully contended 
with their enemy until our independence was secured. 
In these, and in ten thousand other instances, we see an 
Almighty arm, reaching down from heaven to earth, to 
sustain us, when otherwise we must have been crushed 
to death the very next moment! 

At West Point, just as Arnold had left that post, and 
before he had time to lead on the enemy to the attack; 
before Andre had reached the force, which he was to have 
commanded, Washington providentially returned to the 
fort, Andre was captured by three of our men, and West 
Point was saved from capture. 

Gratefully, devoutly, and truly may we say of our God, 
that "He hath not dealt so with any other people." 
Indeed, our whole history from its commencement down 
to this moment, is filled up with interpositions of Divine 
Providence in our favor. And what is all history but a 



78 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

true record of the dealings of God with men? In all the 
commotions, turbulence, war, devastation, misrule, op- 
pression, and bloodshed, with which this earth has been 
filled and afflicted, God has been seated on his throne, 
and He has thus far overruled all events, and brought good 
out of evil. Let us not despair, my countrymen, of the 
future, but learn to put our trust in Him, doing our duty, 
and leaving it all in His hands to dispose of us and ours 
as He sees best. In a moral point of view, we thus see, 
that the reading of history is no less valuable than it is in 
its social and political bearings and uses. How often, in 
all times, and in all countries, has this same Providence 
overthrown all the devices of the wicked, however 
worldly-wise they might hav.e been, however prudent, 
careful, and cautious in laying their plans, or in carrying 
them into execution? How often, too, have weak men, 
of feeble intellectual powers, and, few in number, been 
enabled to overcome mighty hosts? How often have the 
most untoward circumstances been prospered, and the 
wisest counsels been turned into foolishness? These are 
some of the ideas to be derived from reading history; but 
to be useful to us, we must "inwardly digest" it, reflect 
upon its events, and draw from its conclusions the wisdom 
which it teaches us. In ancient Rome, no one was sup- 
posed to be qualified for any office, until he thoroughly 
understood all Roman history. If that were so, how 
much more reason have we, Americans, to require every 
citizen of this great republic to understand our whole his- 
tory? And what is history but a picture of human life, 
which tends to refine the moral sense, and to correct the 
evil passions of men, by exhibiting vice in all its defor- 
mity, and virtue in all its dignity, purity, and loveliness? 
If GuLiAN C. Verplanck, of Ncw York, has given us the 
very best work on the evidences in favor of the truth of 
Christianity, will not Washington Irving, of the same 
state, give us the very best history of the United States, 
for the use of our schools? We respectfully request him 
to write one. 

One great reason why rich men's sons so often come 
to ruin, may be found in the worthless books which their 
parents permit them to purchase and read. Having read 



ESSAY ON E-DUCATION. 



79 



these worthless books, they become thoroughly imbued 
with all the pernicious ideas which they contain. Vi- 
cious books are as injurious and fatal to the mind as 
vicious company. Licentious hooks produced a revolution 
in France, and deluged the fairest portions of Europe 
with blood. And that parent who permits his chi dren to 
read bad books, is guilty of the destruction of the sou s 
and bodies of his offspring. For this destruction, he will 
be called into judgment by the great Judge of all the 
earth. For such a delinquency, what reason can any 
parent offer to his God, his country, and his offsprmg? 
None— and better for such parent would it have been, 
never to have been born. It is a common maxim, that 
«a man is known by the company which he keeps; to 
which should be added, "and the books which he reads. 
But it appears to us, that nearly all the books published 
of late years, both in Europe and America, if they are 
not filled with vicious principles and loose ideas, yet they 
contain nothing but mere trash and verbiage— one hun- 
dred bushels of chaff, and but one quart of wheat. What 
other description can we give of all our "Annuals, "bou- 
venirs," "Compends," "Outlines," "Conversations, 
"Abridgments," "A Child's Lessons in Geometry, "In- 
troductions," "Explanations," "Libraries of useful and 
entertaining amusement," &c., &c.? In the language of, 
President Picket,— "In this mechanical age, the helps to 
learnincT are multiplying so fast, that we have reason to 
fear that our youth will cease to help themselves. As a 
people, we need neither books nor instructors to help us 
along in the pernicious road in which we are all travel- 
ing. We all love our ease quite too much— that is, all 
our business and professional men in the non-slaveholding 
states. Our laborious employments tend to produce su- 
perficial reading. The farmer, the mechanic, the mer- 
chant, the doctor, the lawyer, and the divine, come home 
at night fatigued, care-worn, and weary of their hard la- 
bor through the live-long day. They feel perfectly ex- 
hausted; and not a few such men, never read any thing 
the year round; but if they do read at all, is it not quite 
too often some worthless newspaper, filled with gross 
libels on the very best men in the country, and with tul- 



80 ESSAY ON EDUCATION 

some and ridiculous panegyrics of some of the most worth- 
less poHticians — -some office-seeker or office-holder? Or, 
they read some fashionable novel — some trifling periodi- 
cal, filled with trash and nonsense* On all such occa- 
sions, instead of such useless stuff', far better for us would 
it be to read some solid and substantial author, whose 
thoughts would reanimate our spirits, light up the little 
sparkling eyes of our children, and redden their cheeks 
with smiles of complacency and delight: some book that 
would rouse up our lost energy, elevate, ennoble, and dig- 
nify our whole souls; natural and civil history, geogra- 
phy, biography, voyages and travels; discourses on che- 
mistry, botany, rhetoric, and such other books, as have 
been written by profound, original thinkers. Better read 
nothing, or listen to the innocent prattle, and behold the 
plays and pranks of our children, than to read or listen 
to the reading, of any such matter as is found in the 
works of Scott, Bulwer, Byron, and all that class of au- 
thors about dukes and duchesses, lords and ladies, grooms 
and lap-dogs. Our people have sufiiered themselves to be 
wonderfully offended at the libels on us, by Bi'itish tra- 
velers, such as Marryatt, Miss Fanny Kemble, Miss Mar- 
tineau, Fanny Wright, and a long list of most contemp- 
tible writers. Even that old virago, Mrs. TroUope, has 
so far been noticed, as to be sneered at! The fault is all 
our own. Such creatures should not have been noticed 
at all, and then they would not have been read. Captain 
Marryatt had a public dinner given to him at * * * * *, 
whereas, an American author would not have been ten- 
dered scarcely a drink of cold water! So long as we 
fawn around English authors while they are here, and 
complain of their libels on us, and of their ingratitude to- 
wards us in their books, so long shall we be libelled and 
abused by John Bull on his return home. We must stand 
on our own legs, not caring much what the European 
world says of us and our's. 

For ourselves, we prefer old Euclid, Playfair, La Place, 
and Bonny castle, to all the modern abridgments: old 
Horace, Homer, Virgil, Cicero, and Demosthenes, to all 
their translators. So of all our great modern writers, 
give us the whole of them, instead of selections from 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 81 

them. It is matter of deep regret, that many of our school- 
books are no better; and that in particular, we have not 
now, and never had, a good geography of our own coun- 
try, especially of the western states of the Mississippi Val- 
ley. Our geographies, what are they? They tell us of 
the "Huron Territory," the "Missouri Territory," the 
"Oregon Territory," and several other "districts" and 
"territories," which have no existence on earth, except 
in the imaginations of Eastern book-makers. Had these 
authors left the entire Valley of the Mississippi a blank, we 
would prefer the blank to the errors, not to say positive 
falsehoods, which fill up such geographies. These au- 
thors have quoted as genuine authority, the novels called 
"Ross Cox," and the "Life of Daniel Boone!" "Ross 
Cox" is a novel, gotten up at *****, by some dozen 
persons in that city. The London book-makers have en- 
larged the work, and made two large volumes of it, ac- 
companied by maps and cuts, &c., and they have praised 
it highly! Our Eastern writers have denied the existence 
of all our "ancient works" in the Western states, not- 
withstanding we had surveyed and described them with 
mathematical accuracy, more than twenty years since. 
But we have said, that we greatly need, what we have 
not, and never had yet — a good geography of the United 
States for the use of our schools. It should describe cor- 
rectly all the great natural features of our country — its 
rivers and mountains; its valleys and almost boundless 
prairies; its lakes, islands, and bays; and all its wild ani- 
mals; its people of all sorts, and all our institutions, civil, 
social, benevolent, and religious. In fine, it should be an 
encyclopaedia of geography. Such a work should be 
written by an American, who has seen all that he de- 
scribes. We have in the Western states not a few just 
such men, who could produce such a work, and our whole 
body of reading people must patronize him liberally, other- 
wise he should not undertake it. Such a work, being a desi- 
deratum, let us hope that some enterprising man will come 
forward and publish it — soon. It must come from a mind 
as large, noble and grand as the country is, which he de- 
scribes. Among our good books for schools, we have 

11 



82 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

Picket's scliool-books, in three parts, and McGuffey's 
"Eclectic Reader," in four parts. We have two histo- 
ries of Kentucky; one by H. Marshall, and the other by 
Butler. "The Historical Society of the State of Ken- 
tucky," it is expected, will add largely to the history of 
that noble state. The society itself is composed of the 
very best and the most respectable men, now, or ever 
citizens of that state. From their age, and their long re- 
sidence in the state — from their learning, and the high 
stations which they have always occupied since the first 
settlement of Kentucky, we shall always rely on any 
statement of facts emanating from such high authority. 
Of our history, natural and civil, of the state of Ohio, be- 
ing its author, we only say, that it is extensively read, as 
a school-book, in this state. We have a history of Michi- 
gan, by Lanman, an arithmetic and other school-books, 
by Dr. Ray, and some other school-books, written by 
Western men, McClung, and other authors. The Rev. 
Dr. Blake's Historical Reader is an excellent book for 
schools, but it is not as much read as it deserves to be. 
Murray's English Reader has long been used, and deserves 
to be continued in all our schools. Dr. Blair's Sermons 
should be read by every body. It is a work that is filled 
up with true philosophy and true religion. For its style 
and matter, it stands almost alone and solitary, a tree of 
life, bearing fruit and flowers on the same tree all the year 
round, like a fruit-tree within the tropics. 

Biographies are highly entertaining, and highly useful 
books. They are very numerous in this country, and many 
of them are very well written. Irving's "Columbus," and 
his "Companions of Columbus," are more entertaining than 
any novel can be. Every child, and every youth, and 
every man and woman in our whole country, should read 
these books. The dictionaries now in use, are Webster's, 
Johnson's, and Walker's — they all have their excellen- 
cies, and they all have their defects. 

But, after all that we have said concerning books, the 
BIBLE is emphatically THE BOOK for children, youth, 
and age. It contains a revelation of the will of God, the 
way of life and salvation, and it opens to our full view, 
heaven and all its glories. It directs us, to txavel in the 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 



83 



narrow path, running along on a ridge, and on the very 
edge of a frightful precipice, which leads up to that holy, 
happy place. It shows us the doom also of the incorri- 
gibly wicked. It exhibits to us a God, pure, holy, just, 
benevolent, good, and merciful; so just, that he abhors 
all iniquity, even in our very hearts, before it has exe- 
cuted its wicked designs; yet, that He so loved us, that 
he gave up his only begotten Son, to die for us, and atone 
for our transgressions; "and having so loved us, he prays 
us to be reconciled to his law, and his government. He 
even aids us, by his good Spirit, to turn from the error of 
our ways, to him, to truth and righteousness. But, if af- 
ter all that he has done to redeem and save us— after all 
his entreaties, mercy, aid, and kindness, we will persist 
in our rebellion, obstinacy, unbelief, and ingratitude to 
him; if we will go to ruin, he permits us to go down to 
the pit of destruction, with all our sins resting on our own 
guilty souls. This BOOK, containing all these sublime, 
high, and holy truths; these great and glorious offers of 
life and salvation; all these awful warnings; should al- 
ways be read every day, at least once, in all our schools, 
of all sorts. It is the Book of Books^ without reading 
which, and becoming thoroughly imbued with its prin- 
ciples, vain shall be the reading of all other books in the 
world; and we are lost, lost for ever; lost to all goodness, 
all happiness. No matter how learned, how rich, how 
honored, dignified, and adorned, even with crowns and 
diadems, sceptres, mitres, and crosiers; and surrounded 
by all the glories of this world: they shall all fade and 
wither, die, and come to nought, and be forgotten; or be 
remembered only to our shame and disgrace, as so many 
gifts of God, wHich we have abused. 

The Sunday School is the best means of affording mo- 
ral and religious instruction to children in this country. 
Although many of the books read in these schools are not 
what they should be, not having emanated from clear 
heads and sound learning; and, although nearly all of 
them, originating in Europe, are not at all adapted to our 
state of society, where the abject poverty of the poor 
does not exist, and where there are neither lords nor 
ladies, hy title, yet even some of them are adapted to all 



84 ESSAY ON KDUCATION. 

lands, and all conditions of society, and so may be read 
here with profit. The works of Baxter, and those of that 
holy race of ministers, who rose with the Reformation, 
out of persecution, like gold purified in the furnace; and 
who spake like prophets of old times; they should be read 
forever, as standing next in eminence to the writings of 
the apostles, and of the fathers of the church in primitive 
times. It is matter of regret, that men of talents, learn- 
ing, and genius, do not write religious books for children. 
So far as the Sunday School teachers use the scriptures, 
and sensible comments on them, they are doing good, 
and deserve well of their country. The evidences in fa- 
vor of the truth of Christianity should be thoroughly 
studied and understood by every teacher and every scho- 
lar. The more our religion is examined, and the better 
it is understood, the brighter it will shine. 

It is a great defect in the education of the youth of 
both sexes, for them to be permitted to read the frivolous, 
vain, vicious, and wicked books with which the whole 
country is filled to overflowing. Got up on poor paper, 
printed by a power press, and glued together, and bound 
in a wa-etched manner, they are sold for very little more 
than about what they actually cost the bookseller. Such 
books are circulated and read by persons who never read 
any better books. Some of them contain not one new 
idea, and others contain the errors and the libels on Chris- 
tianity, which have already been triumphantly refuted a 
thousand times. We lay down this broad proposition, 
that no book, however written, or by whomsoever, 
whether in verse or prose, which contains even one im- 
pure thought, or even one idea, tending to weaken our 
reverence for God, the Saviour, or his religion, should ever 
be placed in the hands of youth. Books filled with ob- 
scene pictures, or allusions, by leaving blanks to he filled 
up by the reader, in his imagination, with impure ideas, 
come under the same condemnation. Such books, we 
fear, are more read in these United States than the Bible: 
— yes, the writings of Voltaire, Paine, Scott, Bulwer, and 
Byron, are more read than the Word of God ! If such seed 
be sown in the youthful mind, what kind of a crop will 
that seed produce ? Look all over the nation, and then tell 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 85 

US, whether the tares do not cover the whole field, with 
only hei'e and there a few stalks of good wheat, and al- 
most choked by the tall weeds and poisonous plants gi'ow- 
ing all around the good grain? Do not we see, in plain 
language, myriads of lost, wretched, and ruined youths of 
both sexes, wherever we travel? They read vicious 
books, but rarely read their Bibles. They go to the the- 
atre, the race-course, or the inn, the grocery or the coffee- 
house, but rarely go to the church or the Sunday School. 
They are idle, they dress in the height of the fashion, they 
drink and gamble, and sing obscene songs, but they never 
say their prayers, nor sing the praises of God. In a few, 
short years, their worthless lives will be closed on earth, 
and will be begun in a world of woe, that shall never end. 
Would to God, that, when this worthless race of youthful 
reprobates, shall go off the stage, no such otlier like wick- 
ed generation should grow up among us, and follow in 
their footsteps, which lead down to hell. But this cannot 
be expected, unless we remove from the hands of our 
youth, all the vicious, light, trifling, and obscene books 
and pictures, which have corrupted and ruined so many 
of the youths of our own day. And, what shall we say 
of the authors of such books? of those who sell them, and 
of the parents who permit such books to be read by our 
youth? For such wickedness, how will they be able to 
answer to their God and their country ? In the world to 
come — aye, often in this world, such guilty wretches, 
"are beaten with many stripes." "Their worm dieth not 
and their fire is not quenched" — no, never, never, never. 

Not a few of our truly great men, who set up this go- 
vernment, bore their testimony in favor of the truth of 
our religion. They wrote, and often spake in its favor; 
and, their lives were such, that no one could doubt their 
sincerity; but, they are gone down to their graves. In 
vain do we look over our country for their successors, in 
all this purity of sentiment, and piety in practice. Where 
is the man, now in any high, civil office, in all the land, 
whose doctrine and practice correspond with those of 
the Washingtons, Jays, and Clintons of former times? 
How mortifying to our feelings, as citizens of this repub- 
lic, is the humiliating contrast between the present and 



86 ESSAT ON EDUCATION. 

past men of our country ? Should no reformation take 
place among our men in power, can we expect to con- 
tinue to prosper as a nation? Will God reverse all his 
laws to save us from national degradation and ruin? 
What good man's heart faints not, at the future, unless 
repentance and reformation intervene and save us from 
destruction, as a free people — forthwith? My hand trem- 
bles, and my head aches, while I thus write, for the con- 
sideration of my readers. Rouse up, men of learning, 
genius, and patriotism, and furnish our youth good, use- 
ful books, for them to read. Aid us, in purifying all 
the fountains of literature, so that our youth may drink 
only the morally pure and healthful waters which origi- 
nate in cool, pure, moral springs. Let us burn with 
fire, or cast away as useless, all the vile trash, under 
whatever form or title it issues from polluted presses. 
Let us encourage our own authors, to write on subjects, 
adapted to our own state of society, to these times, to 
our present circumstances, wants, and views, and to our 
own political creed. Our destiny, as a nation, under Pro- 
vidence, is committed to our own safe keeping, and it 
behooves every man and woman to do his and her duty, 
to preserve the liberties of this country, its institutions, 
its morals, its religion, its reputation and honor. Heaven 
has prospered us, and enabled us, once at least, recently, 
to pluck up our drowning liberties by their drowning locks. 
"To whom much is given — of them much will be required." 
Men in years, affluent, learned, wise and good, can best 
serve their country, by furnishing morally pure, whole- 
some food for the minds of our children and youth. Calm, 
collected, experienced, and disinterested in all the little 
petty strifes and rivalries of young men, just entering on 
their career, our aged citizens are best qualified to pro- 
duce works well calculated to instruct youth and be read 
by posterity. Such men, once entered the senate-cham- 
ber of the United States, as members of that body; but 
that theatre is now generally shut against such men, so 
we invite them into the fields of literature, which are left 
open for them to walk in, and there gather fresh laurels 
for their brows. Forthwith join us in the labors of this 
field. Hasten your footsteps hither. Among the many 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 87 

useful books which may be safely recommended to our 
youth, is Watts' "Improvement of the Mind." It teaches 
us how to learn, how to improve the memory, and all our 
mental and moral faculties. Dr. Johnson, in his biogra- 
phical sketch of Watts, seems to have admired that au- 
thor, and every thing belonging to him, "except' his non- 
conformity." I can bear testimony in favor of the book 
which we have mentioned, as having been of great use 
to myself during the last forty years of my life, in im- 
proving my mind, and storing my memory with many 
useful facts. 

Mansfield's "Political Grammar," should be read and 
thoroughly studied by every American youth, of both 
sexes. Its information is important, to every youth in 
the Union, who wishes to understand all the rights and 
duties of an American citizen. 



CHAPTER VI. 



FEMALE MANNERS IN THE NORTH, AND THE INFLUENCE OF 
OUR WOMEN ON POLITICS, MORALS, AND RELIGION. 



Want of courtesy is a great defect in the manners of 
ladies. In all our non-slaveholding states, we see, quite 
too often, almost every where, a shyness towards the 
rougher sex, among our ladies. On looking over the tra- 
vels of foreigners among us, we discover that they have 
noticed this fault in our female manners, and they have, 
one and all, entirely mistaken its origin, and have con- 
demned it, as a roughness growing out of our republican 
form of government. We will endeavor to explain what 



88 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION^ 



we mean by shyness in our Northern women, in the hope 
that they may be taught by their mothers and instructors, 
to correct a habit which injures the reputation of our free 
form of government in the eyes of foreign nations. All 
our men, young and old, in steam boats, in canal boats, 
in public stage coaches, and in all public places, always 
and every where give a preference to ladies, — they have 
the best chair, located in the most comfortable place; in 
winter, by the fireside; in summer, where it is cool, airy, 
and neat — the best seat at the table, the best room at the 
inn, in the steam boats and canal boats, and the back seat 
in the stage coach. When any lady, though a mere stran- 
ger to all present, enters any room where gentlemen are, 
every one vies with the rest of the company to give the 
lady the best seat, located in the most comfortable place. 
But, no matter how much of his own comfort any gen- 
tleman has sacrificed at this lady's shrine — one whom he 
never saw before, and never will see again, our Northern 
lady, quite too often, receives the favor without showing, 
by words or even by a grateful look, any, even the least 
recognition, of such an act of disinterested benevolence. 
A few words, a grateful look, are all the acknowledgment 
which it will ever be in her power to bestow on her be- 
nefactor. The foreigner calls such discourtesy, cold dis- 
dain, moroseness, and a ferocity belonging to our republi- 
can manners. The young man deems it an evidence of 
her hatred of his own fair form; while the old man thinks 
it originates in her disrespect for his grey hairs 1 The de- 
mocrat suspects her of hating him, because he has not 
yet fallen into the overwhelming mass of men who sup- 
ported "old Tip;" whereas the elated Whig accuses her 
in his mind of being, at heart, a real "loco!" But there 
she sits, poor woman, abashed and disconcerted, truly 
grateful in her heart, (and she is neither a British bank- 
bought whig, nor a loco foco,) wholly unconscious of 
meaning or doing any thing wrong by quietly receiving 
the favor, without saying a single word, or raising her 
grateful eye on her benefactor, in recognition of his polite 
attention to her wants. Such apparent coldness and in- 
sensibility to kindness, as a Frenchman would call it, is 
certainly a defect, and a great defect, in Northern female 



KS3AY ON ELUCATION. 89 

manners. If the lady be too bashful, in the presence of 
gentlemen, to utter a "thank you, sir," she might raise a 
grateful eye on her benefactor, and show her rosy cheek, 
crimsoned with blushes. These features would "tell the 
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," which 
every beholder would instantly believe, know, and feel. 
Justice to her heart would be done, and she be fully ac- 
quitted of ingratitude. But such discourtesy is nothing 
more nor less than a shyness, or a reserve, in the presence 
of men. It grows not out of our republican institutions, 
as a monarchist believes; nor are our Southerners correct 
in charging it on the coldness and dreariness of our 
Northern climate, except in New Hampshire. We dis- 
agree in opinion, too, with those who derive such an ap- 
parent insensibility to kindness from our Puritanical an- 
cestors, who severely punished by fine and imprisonment, 
as an audacious felon, every sinner of a man, who, with- 
out a particle of malice in his heart at the time, honestly- 
kissed his wife on a Sunday. How great a portion of the 
manners of Southei'n ladies is derived from those of the 
gay cavaliers of Charles the Second's time, who were the 
first settlers in the Southern portion of this Union, we 
will not pretend to state, because we do not know; but, 
we see enough in the present state of society, differing as 
it does, in the Northern and Southern portions of this 
country, to account for all the difference of manners ex- 
isting in the Northern and Southern sections of this re- 
public. There may be some slight foundation for the 
opinion, that the ancestral origin of our Southerners, dif- 
fering as they did from the fathers and mothers of New 
England, in religion, politics, literature, and manners, has 
produced and kept up female manners different from ours 
in the North. Our knowledge of Southern female man- 
ners is too limited and imperfect, to qualify us to sit in 
judgment on that case. 

In the South, the rich planter and his numerous family 
and guests, rise early in the morning. They all dress 
themselves handsomely, and all sit down to their break- 
fast. The company at table consists of both sexes, and 
of all ages. Having finished their meal, they go, in sum 

12 



90 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

mer, into their wide and lofty hall, through which passes 
a current of cool air. There they sit in conversation to- 
gether until dinner. In the afternoon, the whole assem- 
blage, seated in the hall, continue in conversation until 
tea-time; supper being despatched, they reassemble in 
the hall, and converse there until bed-time, when they all 
go to rest. They arise early the next morning, and 
pass the next day as the former one was passed. In this 
manner do the rich Southerners pass their lives. Attend- 
ed by servants, comparatively devoid of care, they are 
not compelled to labor hard for their daily bread; their 
spirits are buoyant, their conversation flows along down 
the stream of life, sometimes gently, sometimes rapidly, 
through flowery meadows and pleasant groves. This 
state of society, made up of both sexes and of all ages, is 
best calculated to polish the manners, and render human 
life happy. The waywardness of childhood and youth, 
is checked by the gravity and wisdom of age. The lat- 
ter, too, is enlivened and rendered happy by the innocent 
gaiety, vivacity, and sprightliness of the former. The 
presence of the females checks all indecorum in the 
males, while the presence of the latter gives a certain de- 
gree of manliness of character to the former, which not 
a few of our Northern females do not appear to possess. 
The heads of such a family, often call their children into 
a private room, when any stranger of distinction is at 
their family mansion, and inform them who is to be pre- 
sent in the haM, or in the best room; they instruct them 
how to behave before him, and especially to listen to all 
he says, and lay up, and store away in their memory, all 
his wise remarks. Such parents set an example for their 
youth to foflow; they call the stranger by his name, often, 
in conversation, in a tone of kindness, that delights and 
fascinates the guest. Such a family is a school, and the 
best school in the world wherein to learn politeness, good 
manners, good morality, and good every thing which is 
calculated to improve, polish, and adorn youth and age. 

Our Northern people, of both sexes, labor hard for their 
living. Rich or poor, old or young, from morning until 
night; our men are engaged in labor of body or mind, or 
both, until they retire to rest, without spending scarcely 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 



91 



a moment in conversation with the other sex. '^''^^ ?^" 
males are engaged in their proper business, in-doors, while 
their husbands,"brothers, and sons are employed at then- 
several callings, out of doors. They rarely spend an 
hour's conversation in the society of each other, and when 
they do meet for conversation, their labor has worn down 
both body and mind. Languor, corporeal and mental, 
renders conversation languid, listless, and a burden, m- 
stead of its being a pleasure and a relief to a depressed 
spirit and a fatigued body. Unaccustomed to the society 
of each other, even at parties composed of both sexes, 
they can hardly be said to meet together, each sex form- 
ing a distinct group by itself. By such habits of living, it 
might be naturally expected that our females would have 
precisely such manners as they have — a shyness and an 
awkwardness in the presence of the men, with whom 
they so rarely associate, in public. Cramped in their feel- 
ings, embarrassed and confused in their manners, the fo- 
reigner attributes, what he calls moroseness, roughness, 
and cold disdain to our form of government. The South- 
ern man condemns such icy manners, and charges them 
on our Northern climate. Such manners in women pro- 
duce awkwardness and bad manners among the men. 
The wholesome restraints, however, which well-educated 
women might impose on the manners of the rougher sex, 
are not wanting in the Northern states. 

We have thus stated what we deem a defect, and a 
great one, too, in female manners, in the non-slaveholding 
states; and we have followed up this little rivulet to. its 
main head-spring. Its other branches, that is, their on- 
gin from the Puritans, who first settled in New England; 
and the gay Cavaliers of Charles the Second, who spread 
over all the Southern parts of our Union, we do not feel 
competent fully to discuss, and so we leave to others, the 
task of ascending these streams to their fountain-heads. 
A few remarks on the ancestral origin of the females of 
Virginia, Maryland, and of all the states north, east, and 
west of the Potomac river, may not be inappropriate, and 
we cheerfully add them at this time. 

But, although we have explained, and thereby led the 
reader, to the principal fountain-head, of one of the mere 



92 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

rills of the main stream of Northern female manners; yet 
there are other small streams, which pour their volumes 
into the common great river. The females in the North 
are descended from the Puritans, who were the founders 
of the New England states, and from the Dutch in New 
York, and the Quakers of Pennsylvania. And the early 
matrons of Maryland and Virginia had no superiors on 
earth. Better mothers no people ever had than all those 
were whom we have mentioned. Neat, tidy, industrious, 
kind-hearted, vigilant, careful, prudent; they faithfully 
performed all theh* several duties, as wives, mothers, sis- 
ters, friends, and neighbors. They were patriotic, too, 
almost to a fault. When their country called for soldiers 
to defend it, these mothers gave up, without a murmur, 
to the army, their husbands, sons, and brothers, whom 
they dearly loved. They did more, they armed their sol- 
diers, by breathing into their whole souls a love of coun- 
try, an ardor, a courage, a fortitude, which rendered our 
little armies bands of brothers, of patriots, and soldiers, 
whom no danger could appal. And no army of equal 
numbers were so hard to be conquered as ours. These 
mothers taught their daughters to labor with their own 
hands; to oversee all their household affairs, and to be 
virtuous, true, and faithful, as wives, sisters, and female 
friends. And such virtue, truth, and fidelity were amply 
rewarded by their husbands, sons, brothers, and friends, 
who gave their whole hearts to their femnle connexions. 
Love, kindness, and confidence reigned throughout our 
old, pure, and truly happy community. Through the 
blessing of God, which has so abundantly followed us, as 
a nation, in all our wanderings in this American wilder- 
ness, we may, and we ought, to attribute to such mothers 
no small portion of the good spirit, good feeling, kindness, 
and benevolence which make us to differ from the older 
nations of Europe. Our soldiers and sailors, though they 
always fight li"ke lions in the battle, yet always, in the 
next moment, when the enemy is c(>nquered, they be- 
come Iambs — their prisoners are treated kindly, and those 
who had given their enemies such warm broadsides, now 
give them as warm firesides — they receive and treat them 
as friends and brothers. The reader will instantly re- 




ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 93; 

collect General Schuyler's reception and treatment of 
Biirgoyne and his officers, who had, in carrying on their 
warlike operations, out of sheer malice, burned down inlo 
ashes Schuyler's large family mansion. But why need 
we recur to instances of this sort, because a whole large 
volume would not contain them all? Harrison, and all 
our officers, have behaved like Schuyler on all similar oc- 
casions. 

In the w^ar of the revolution, the wife of Washington 
often visited his head-quarters, and bound up the wounds 
of the bleeding soldiers. She would have shared all the 
dangers of the field, had her loved husband permitted her 
to do so; but, she was a wife, and she obeyed his injunc- 
tions, and retired from danger, when he so commanded 
her to do. Franklin's daughter made clothes with her 
own fair hands, for our soldiers, and even mended their 
ragged, tattered, and almost worn-out garments, on all oc- 
casions, when any opportunity ofiered her the chance to 
be thus employed. 

From such mothers, my loved countrywomen, are you 
nobly descended. They wore crowns of glory, composed 
of a deep, abiding, and patriotic sense of duty. Its dia- 
monds, shone with a brilliancy that filled our whole coun- 
try with light and life and joy. 

During the last war with England, our females did their 
duty bravely, nobly, and well, — they rewarded the brave 
with swords, with thanks, and waiving their white scarfs 
from their windows, they scattered flowers in abundance 
in our streets, for our soldiers to walk on when they re- 
turned home. 

Having made a few, we hope not inappropriate, re- 
marks, on the character of the sainted, pure, and patrio- 
tic matrons of the early times of our republic, w^e scarcely 
need say, that, like the men of those days, their memory 
is, as it deserves to be, blessed by their posterity; and, 
should times, perilous to the liberties of this nation, ap- 
proach us, our females, our virtuous females, who are, 
thank God, not only the legitimate descendants of such 
ancestors by blood, but in spirit and in truth; assuming 
the armor of truth, righteousness, and patriotic devotion 
to the cause, the holy cause, of liberty, they would rise 



94 ESSAT ON EDUCATION. 

up, with one accord, and come forward, by thousands and 
hundreds of thousands, and attend all our public meet- 
ings, where patriots met, and encourage, by tokens not to 
be mistaken, every effort made, or to be made, in favor 
of liberty and free governmeht. Yes, from the Mexican 
Gulph to lake Erie, and from the river Mississippi to Nova 
Scotia, (the cold and dreary and snowy region of New 
Hampshire, always excepted.) they would war against all 
our enemies, domestic or foreign. In other words, the 
females of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, 
Indiana, Illinois, St. Louis and environs, Ohio, Michigan, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware,' New Jersey, New 
York, Averment, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachu- 
setts, and Maine, would be instantly in the field, in the 
vast congregations of patriots; at the fireside, in the stage 
coach, in the railroad car, in the steam boat, canal boat, 
and in all public places, arming all hearts, and nerving all 
arms for the conflict. Nor would the females of good old 
Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia be missing in such 
perilous times. 

We care not who were your ancestors, my country- 
women, whether they were Puritans, Dutch, Quakers, Ca- 
valiers or Roundheads, you are as brave, patriotic, pure, 
and good as they were, in their best days. While you 
keep your eyes fixed on the operations of this govern- 
ment, and you are properly educated, by virtuous, intel- 
ligent, and patriotic mothers, our republic is safe, because 
no worthless politician can enslave us. Your songs, 
smiles, and frowns can do more for us than "an army 
with banners," to put down or drive away wicked men 
fi'om pov/er, and put honest men in their places. We 
thnnk you, ladies, for your courage and patriotism, which 
have steadied the ark of our political safety, and put all 
hearts at rest as to the permanency of our free institu- 
tions for one half century to come. 

Female influence i>, as it ought to be, inseparably con- 
nected with female manners. Even the downfall of the 
Roman empire is often attiibuted by historians to a de- 
cline of female virtue and patriotism at Rome. Horace 
and all the writers of the Augustan age, foresaw and fore- 
told the fatal catastrophe, unless a reformation, in female 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 95 

manners, habits, and customs took place. Nothing but 
a good, sound, virtuous education can save us from ruin 
as a free people. Now, we are safe, let us keep safe, by 
educating in the best manner possible, every female in our 
country, so that when our liberties may be assailed by 
foes within, or foes without our republic, all our mothers, 
sisters, and daughters may defend, by their good influ- 
ence, our altars, our firesides, and all our free institutions. 
Our females are officiating priestesses in the temple of 
liberty. They give the early bias, either good or bad, to 
every child that is born in our country. Thus far, their 
influence has been healthful in morals, religion, and poli- 
tics, on their offspring. May their education be duly at- 
tended to, and valued above all price in dollars and cents! 
But we forbear to press home this idea here, having done 
so in other portions of this essay. 

Generally speaking, where the males of any commu- 
nity are well educated, so are the females of the same 
community. Along the Potomac river, from its utmost 
springs to its mouth, forty miles in width, the river pas- 
sing through the centre of that strip of land, both sexes 
are among the very best educated, hospitable, polite, and 
benevolent people of this whole Union. That people 
have always educated their daughters in the very best 
manner, ever since that country was first settled by their 
ancestors. And, in any portion of our country, where 
we find polite, well-bred men, we shall find polite well- 
bred women. Without such women, we need not look 
for well-bred polished gentlemen in any country. 

On the part of our Northern women, as to their man- 
ners, when compared with Southern female manners, it 
is a case in Chancery before a single judge, who is too 
deeply interested in the decision of this case, perhaps, 
to retain it in his court. Born of a Northern woman, 
nearly related to Northern women by the ties of consan- 
guinity, love, and affectionate regard, and made happy 
through a long life by a Northern woman, who is, and 
always has been, my wife; by kind and affectionate 
daughters, by female relatives and female friends, I con- 
sider myself as objected off" the bench, as a partial judge, 
so resuming my old profession at the bar, putting on my 



9Q ESSAY ON EDUCATION* 

gown, and laying aside my wig, I will take this case into 
a court of law, by an appeal fiom the court of equity to 
the highest court of law, before judges fully competent to 
try it, and there, in answer to the allegations in the plain- 
tiff's declaration, in this behalf made, J proceed under a 
regular notice, already filed in this case above, to prove 
as an offset to the plaintiff's charges, all the virtues, good 
deeds, good dispositions, and good hearts of my clients, 
and pray this honorable court to certify a large balance 
in favor of the defendants, against the plaintifl'-'s demands, 
over and above an entire and full satisfaction of all the 
claims and demands aforesaid shall have been rendered 
and made to the plaintiff. 

It is therefore considered by this court, now here, that 
after satisfying all the just and legal charges against the 
females of the North, on account of some defects in their 
manners, yet, nevertheless, they are faithful wives, kind 
and affectionate mothers, good sisters, good daughters, 
good neighbors, and faithful friends; and that they per- 
form all their duties, in all the relations of life, with a zeal 
and a fidelity which render them ornaments of society, 
dear to their friends, and dear to their country. And the 
plaintiffs in mercy, &c. 

Well-educated ladies will always act like ladies, all the 
world over. We therefore address our petition for relief, 
in this case, to the mothers and matrons of our common 
and beloved country. We pray them to teach their 
daughters good manners; to imbue their minds and hearts 
with good principles, from which shall flow good morals, 
pure patriotism, and sound republican doctrines. And if 
our females, in this great valley, continue to wield the 
sceptre of political power, we pray them never to forget 
the maxim, that "good mistresses make good servants;" and 
that the foundation of all good government should rest on 
wisdom, truth, and justice, which we pray they may 
mingle with mercy and benevolence. We find no fault 
with our Western women for the part they have taken in 
politics, we happening always to agree in opinion with 
them; but we pray them to inform themselves thoroughly 
of all the circumstances of any case, where they interfere 
in great conflicting questions of national importance, be- 



ESSAT ON EDUCATION. 97 

fore they embark on such a tempestuous sea, because my- 
self and all belonging to me, are on board of the same 
ship. Navigating the same vessel, sailing from the same 
port, under the same flag, and bound to the same place, 
one voyage, and the same destiny await us, one and all. 
Unless you employ experienced, brave, and faithful ofli- 
cers and crew, to navigate our ship, named the '^Tom Bow- 
ling," it may be wrecked and lost on the tempestuous sea 
of liberty. Walking in the grave-yard of all former and 
present republics, solitary and alone, the traveler, when 
he arrives at the spot where our Long Tom, this repub- 
lic, lies buried, his only pathetical remarks, perhaps, may 
be, — 

"Alas! alas! 
"Here, a sheer hulk, lies poor Tom Bowling, 
The darling of our crew. 

* * # # # 

His form was of the manliest beauty 

His heart was kind and soft: 
Faithful below had he done his duty — 

But, ah! he's gone aloft!" 



Those readers v^ho know the writer well, as many do, 
will pardon us, we know, for telling those who do not 
know us personally, what follows, as a conclusion of this 
desultory chapter, made up of miscellaneous matter. 

All our preceding remarks, in this chapter, apply only 
to native horn American women, and to those of pure 
morals and good principles. It has been my happy and 
blessed lot, to be intimately related to, connected, and 
personally acquainted with, none but such women, through 
a long life. My domestic relations have been most for- 
tunate and most happy, and it is entirely owing to that 
cause, that, at this age of my life, I am alive, instead of 
being dead, and that I am in the very best health of body 
and mind that I ever experienced since I was born. My 
cup of gratitude overflows, towards my wife, daughters, 
female relatives, and female friends. % Virtuous women, 
every where I have travelled, and at all times, in prospe- 

13 



98 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

rity, but more especially in sickness, trouble, and afflic- 
tions, have been my best friends, comforters, counsellors, 
and advisers. 

I owe my female friends a debt which I never can pay; 
but I can, and do, with my whole heart, sum up all my 
good wishes for them and theirs in a sincere, pure, and 
fervent prayer — that God may bless them, keep and pre- 
serve them from all sin; and enable them, by the influ- 
ences of his good Spirit, to perform all their duties, as 
wives, mothers, daughters, relatives, friends, neighbors, 
and patriots, during long, happy, and useful lives. And, 
that they may always, by precept and example, train up 
the rising generation to fear God and keep his command- 
ments. And may they be rewarded constantly by the 
respect, esteem, and love of all good men; by an appro- 
ving conscience, and an approving country: and may 
the purity of their lives recommend goodness, for its own 
sake, and for its good effects on our females. And, finally, 
when their hearts and flesh shall fail them, may they be 
enabled, through grace, to ascend to heaven, and join the 
redeemed throng of saints, made perfect by the blood of 
the Lamb, who was slain for the remission of their sins. 
We ask all these blessings for them in their Saviour's 
name, Jesus of Nazareth. 



KSSAT ON EDUCATION. 99 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE NECESSITY OP EDUCATION, ARISING FROM THE TENDENCY 
OP THIS AGE TO INNOVATION AND CHANGE; FROM THE 
PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE OF THE WESTERN 
STATES, THEIR YOUTH, ACTIVITY, AND ENERGY, CONSISTING 
OP EMIGRANTS FROM THE OLDER STATES, AND FROM EUROPE. 

THE VAST DOMAIN TO BE FILLED UP WITH PEOPLE, IN A 

SHORT PERIOD OP TIME, AND THE ULTIMATE GRANDEUR AND 
GLORY OP THIS REPUBLIC, PROVIDED ITS CITIZENS ARE ALL 
WELL EDUCATED. 



Our duties sometimes spring from our dangers. We 
live in an age of innovation and change, and the signs of 
the times are awful and portentous. Looking all over 
Christendom, we discover that the fountains of the great 
deep, of the political and moral world, are broken up, and 
that the spirit of inquiry has gone forth; restless, feverish, 
impatient of restraint, and reckless of consequences. It 
is abroad in the world, accompanied by error, delusion, 
and destitution of all moral principle. They offer all 
goodness, and all good men, a pitched battle, and, they 
must be met, in hostile array, and conquered in the high 
places of the field. The champions of innovation and 
change have assailed the head of antiquity, for the pur- 
pose of pulling off all his venerable curls, which six thou- 
sand winters had whitened with their snows. Having 
succeeded, they would try next to replace these vene- 
rable white hairs, by fixing on his bare head a few young, 
graceful, artificial locks. Youth, self-conceit, inexperi- 
ence, obstinacy, rashness, giddiness, and levity, wish to 
see fixed on old Time's bald pate a few silken, shining, 
youthful curls. These champions of change are every 
where assailing, with ceaseless toil and fury, all the old- 



100 KSSAT Olf EDUCATION. 

settled principles of our fathers — all our old, well-esta- 
blished maxims of government, morality, and law. E very- 
institution in the land, always heretofore deemed safe, 
and found to be so by our fathers, by Washington, Jeffer- 
son, Chase, Adams, Jay, and Marshall, are now assailed 
by innovators, by restless, rash, inexperienced and wicked 
men. All these battlements, erected for our defence and 
protection by the sages, patriots, and heroes of the last 
age, now tremble, assailed as they constantly are by the 
champions of what they call — Reform. The spirit that 
animates these innovators, stalks like a ghastly spectre 
over the whole of Europe and America. Its head reaches 
up to the clouds above us, and the world trembles under 
its feet at every step it takes. In Europe it has pulled 
down thrones, snatched the diadem from many a mo- 
narch's brow, and the crosier from the hands of the priest. 
In our own country, this evil spirit has excited mobs and 
riots, occasioning destruction of property and loss of lives. 
It assails the freedom of opinion, the liberty of speech, 
and of the press. It attempts to govern our country, and 
our whole country, for the sole benefit of a few. It flat- 
ters and serves one part of the people, and excites them 
against another portion of the people, and the latter are 
sometimes the very best and most peaceable and unof- 
fending citizens in all the land. It tears into pieces whole 
sects of professing christians, who quarrel with and abuse 
each other, contending about the merest trifles in doc- 
trine and practice. And to this intolerance and want of 
charity, are we not largely indebted for the successful in- 
roads which the apostles of misrule, confusion, and irre- 
ligion are making upon our old, well-settled maxims in re- 
ligion and morality? In political matters, we may safely 
affirm, that peculation, fraud, and the robbing of the pub- 
lic treasury, on too many, quite too many occasions, have 
become so common, that such delinquencies have ceased 
to excite even our surprise; so frequent is their occur- 
rence, and so vast are their amounts. Such is the Evil 
Spirit, and such are the awful signs of these times. 

In the full view of such a spn-it, and beholding such 
signs, what is our duty, naturally growing out of the dan- 
gers which threaten us? So far as Europe is concerned, 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 101 

we have little to do with that part of this matter. We 
do not belong to that set of politicians and pretended phi- 
losophers, who have heretofore, and still do, we believe, 
pretend to such a vast store of philanthropy, as to believe 
that we ought to embrace with equal affection all the 
people on the whole globe: and that we ought to assist 
every people, in every country, to overthrow their several 
forms of government, and set up a republic in its place. 
That being a business of their own, we have no right to 
meddle with it, directly or indirectly. A government 
may be perfect on paper or parchment, as we know to 
our sorrow and shame, and in practice be excessively bad. 
A nominal republic, without its ipirit, resembles a marble 
statue of Venus; however it is dressed and adorned with 
costly jewels, and even with the most splendid drapery; 
yet by far the greatest number of men would certainly 
prefer a body that had life, and flesh, and blood, even if 
it were not quite so well proportioned in form, or if her 
drapery was inferior in quantity or quality to that of the 
marble statue. God has given us a country, and he has 
given us wives, children, and relatives, friends and neigh- 
bors, who live with and around us. He has given us cer- 
tain institutions, civil, religious, social, and benevolent, 
and he has made it our duty to protect, preserve, and de- 
fend ourselves, our families, our country, and its institu- 
tions. Whoever tells me, that I ought to love France as 
well as I should this Union — or, that I ought to love his 
wife, his children, and family, as well as I should my own 
wife, my own children and family, tells me what 1 will not 
believe. And such philanthropists would find but few 
men who would thank them for their pretended love. 
We are placed in our several orbits just as the planets 
and their satelites are placed in their orbits; and our af- 
fections towards our country, our wives, parents, chil- 
dren, relatives, and friends, are precisely the same to us, 
and they were given to us by Him who created all things, 
for the same purposes that the laws which the planets 
obey were given to them. It is our proper business to 
perform our several duties daily, as much as it is the duty 
of the earth to perform its diurnal motion; and, as the 
earth revolves annually around the sun, so it is our duty, 



102 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

annually to perform our annual round of duties. We 
shall serve God best by moving around in the orbits in 
which he has placed us. As well might our moon leave 
its orbit, and wander off to enlighten Saturn or Herschell, 
and leave us in the dark all night, as for any considerable 
number of us to wander off into far distant lands to en- 
lighten their people. Hear an apostle: "He that pro- 
videth not for his own household, hath denied the faith, 
and is worse than an infidel." Besides, those who pro- 
fess so much to love all people exactly alike, love no one. 
Let us keep revolving daily on our own axis, in our an- 
nual circuit around the Sun of Righteousness, deriving our 
moral light and warmth from His invigorating beams. 

We come back to our own country, our home, and to 
those who cry out "Reform," "reform," we reply: that 
if we have any institutions which need reform — if they 
are not founded on Christianity, on the equal rights of 
man, we are willing to pull away the rubbish beneath 
them, dig deep, and place, as a chief corner stone. The 
Rock of Ages, in its proper situation, and let the building 
be erected in the best manner, of the best materials, on 
such a foundation. But, if the building be already erected 
on such a foundation, let it stand, repairing it when neces- 
sary, with durable materials, and continue to use and to 
occupy it. For ourselves, we are satisfied with our in- 
stitutions, and we do not like the perishable materials 
with which many innovators desire them to be rebuilt; 
and we have a poor opinion of the science and skill of 
those who propose themselves as the architects to rebuild 
them, even if they would work for nothing and keep 
themselves while they were engaged in so useless a labor. 
Even then we should refuse to employ them. One inno- 
vator wishes to throw aside all the classics, the Greek and 
Roman authors, because the)^ were heathens. Another 
would banish the higher mathematics from our schools. 
The Greeks and Romans possessed splendid geniuses and 
exquisite taste; and, by reading their writings, we have 
sharpened our genius, and polished our taste. They be- 
held the same heavens and the same earth that we do. 
They had the same natural feelings that we have; and, 
by reading their v/ritings, we discover that man, in him- 



ESSAVr ON EDUCATION. 103 

self, is the same being in all ages, so that, after reading 
their writings, seeing their statues, and their paintings, 
and then looking all around us on the people of this day, 
we discover Greeks and Romans every where. They 
were very religious, too, more so — much more so, than 
we are. The high priest at Rome was one of the highest 
officers of the government. He conducted the religious 
ceremonies with awe; and the most consequential persons 
in the state, of both sexes, aided him with zeal and so- 
lemnity in the public worship; but their religion was 
founded on narrow, selfish principles, and did not purify 
the human heart; and so it failed to sustain their empires 
in the times of trial. They are awful beacons for us to 
look at. 

' Their gods were partial, changeful, passionate, unjust, 
Whose attributes were rage, revenge, or lust." 

For a beautiful style of writing, for genius, and taste, 
the Greek and Roman authors of the Augustan age stand, 
as they will for ever stand, unrivalled and alone. And 
whoever wishes to write well, must read them, and imbue 
his mind thoroughly with all the rules of criticism which 
they have laid down for us. Show us an author who 
writes in a beautiful style, one that is embellished with all 
the graces of composition, and we will show you one who 
has drank often and deeply from a Roman or a Grecian 
fountain. To say that our youth will become heathens 
in principle by reading the childish fables of the Greek 
and Roman poets; it would, in effect, be to tell us, that 
our youth are destitute of sound common sense. Nobody 
believes a single word of these fables. But, say these in- 
novators — "All these writings are translated, and we can 
see all their beauties in the translation." As well almost 
might you show us the leaves of a book, made of the 
thickest kind of paper, printed only on one side of each 
leaf, and permit us to read only the blank pages of such 
a book, and having thus perused it, demand of us to give 
our opinion of its contents, and the beauties or blemishes 
of the author's style of writing. We wish our youth to 
catch the style, the beauties, and the taste of the Greeks 
and Romans, not their puerilities as to their goddesses 



104 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

and gods, more than we would wish our youth to become 
enamoured of the ladies and lords, or duchesses and dukes 
found in nearly every work of the English authors. If 
that were all the matter such writings contained, they 
would be, indeed, below the capacities of almost any child 
four years old. 

As to the higher branches of the mathematics, which 
innovators wish to banish from our schools, we can say, 
that if we wish to add method, order, discrimination, ac- 
curacy in reasoning, strength and vigor to the mind, there 
is no substitute for the mathematics. The practical land- 
surveyor, the civil and military engineer, the astronomer, 
the philosopher, the sailor, the musician, and the warrior, 
are not the only persons who ought to study the mathe- 
matics. The chemist, the doctor, the lawyer, the author, 
the reasoner, and the profound thinker, must be well ac- 
quainted with the mathematics, or they cannot compete 
with rivals in their business who have studied this branch 
of learning, and so have acquired the art of studying long, 
and thinking accurately, reasoning closely, methodically, 
and correctly, until a conclusion is arrived at. We there- 
fore conclude, that the white hairs on the head of Old 
Time, are preferable to the youthful, silken, shining, grace- 
ful curls of the innovators. 

But, we are not of those who would make educa- 
tion a bed of Procrustes, by cutting off the legs of those 
who were too long for it; or by means of vices, screws, 
and pulleys, drawing out the legs of those who were too 
short for it, until they were as long as our bedstead. The 
genius, the inward desire, the circumstances of the pa- 
rents and friends, and their wishes; the bodily constitu- 
tion of the youth and his prospects, should all be consult- 
ed, and well considered, before he determined what busi- 
ness he should follow for life. Having determined on that 
most important matter, his education should conform to 
it, so as to prepare him thoroughly for his particular call- 
ing or profession. If his early age, his mental and phy- 
sical powers, and his estate, would permit it, his course 
might embrace the whole circle of literature and science; 
but, if not, then we should fit him for his proper occupa- 
tion, or business; we should give him good moral and re- 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 105 

ligious principles; imbue him with correct notions of our 
republican institutions; let him study our history, our geo- 
graphy; teach him to govci'n himself, and to do his duty 
always in every station in which he may be placed; to 
be industrious, active, and benevolent, and then send him 
forth into the world, to act his part in it. 

Such studies as have been pursued for ages, and have 
produced useful, good, and great men, we would never 
throw away, nor banish them from our schools; but if 
any new discoveries were made in them, or any new 
branches should spring out and grow on the tree of know- 
ledge we would cheerfully allow all our youth to eat the 
fruit that grows on them, until their craving appetites 
were fully satisfied. 

And, to those reckless, rash, obstinate, self-willed, self- 
conceited, and wicked men, who have surrounded our for- 
tress, which contains within its walls all our institutions, 
assailing our citadel with the incessantly roaring of their 
artillery, we would spring a mine, and make a sortie upon 
them, and drive them out into the open plain, where they 
would be surrounded by a numerous host, now marching 
under the expanded banner of the cross, to conquer all such 
foes of civil order and domestic peace. We would drive 
all such enemies not only beyond the bounds of our coun- 
try, but out of the world. The Evil Spirit who is their 
leader, should be chased down into the pit from whence 
he ascended into this world. Our teachers are our com- 
manding officers, their pupils are our soldiers, and the 
whole army is commanded by the Great Teacher of man- 
kind. 

But it may be said, that, according to our own show- 
ing, "the gospel says nothing of the love of country^ at 
least, of any country but our own." It is not so. We 
say, that the gospel requires us to love our own country 
best^ and, that we should move i/?, and not out, of our own 
orbits. But, although that be the fact, yet, were the prin- 
ciples of the gospel universally to prevail, wars would 
cease, the nations of the earth would blend and harmo- 
nize, and patriotism would be lost in universal philan- 
thropy. The present value of patriotism depends on the 

U 



106 ESSAY ON EDUCATION* 

continuance of the present state of things in the world. 
When they change, and christian benevolence covers the 
world, as the waters do the sea, then patriotism will be 
swallowed up and lost in universal philanthropy; but not 
until then. This is what we say: Until that glorious pe- 
riod arrives, it is our business to move onwards, in our se- 
veral orbits, and, by doing our duty, prepare the world 
for the universal reign of The Prince of Peace. Educa- 
tion is the means with which this moral revolution is to 
be produced. The age of miracles has passed by, and 
human exertions are, henceforth, the only means of evan- 
gelizing the world. But, in conclusion, on this branch of 
our subject, we say: that, though we ought to love our 
own country hest^ yet we should hold other countries in 
due respect. We should admire the beauties of nature 
and art in all countries. We should cherish a regard for 
the people of all countries; honor virtue, though found in 
the wandering Arab or the turbaned Turk. This is chris- 
tian patriotism. Those who profess so much benevolence 
that they love all mankind with equal affection, love no 
people. The French revolutionists have set this matter 
in the clearest light, by enslaving, plundering, and op- 
pressing every people who believed and confided in such 
hypocritical professions. Because we love our own coun- 
try best, it by no means follows that we should hate any 
other country. We should love virtue wherever we find 
it, and hate vice and crime, wherever they exist, either at 
home or in any other place. This is true doctrine among 
all good men, in every age, and every countiy. 

As to those, who, in every sentence which they utter, 
profess unbounded love for the people, we have been oV- 
ten in their company, and were always involuntarily led 
forthwith to secure our purse, and every thing valuable 
about our person, to prevent our pockets being picked by 
a thief. "Actions speak louder than words," is a homely 
maxim, but a true one ; and whoever boasts much of any 
virtue, he well knows that he does not possess it, and so 
he is trying to hide a weak part of his character. But 
we proceed to say: 

That, as to the intolerance among professing christians, 
our remedy would be, to recommend to all the parties 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 107 

concerned, persecutors and persecuted, love, harmony, 
peace, and mutual forbearance; "each preferring the 
other," as the gospel requires of them. While a foi'eign 
enemy lies entrenched all around the walls of tho holy 
city, let quiet, peace, and harmony reign within its walls, 
among those who dwell within it. Christians! yonder are 
the enemies to be assailed! you will best show your 
courage, your fortitude and patrio'tism, by uniting all 
hearts, all hands, and all your energies, and by manfully 
fighting against them. Either subdue all your angry feel- 
ings within your own bosoms, or spend all your strength 
on the open, avowed enemies lying in their entrench- 
ments, all around your outside walls. As it now too of- 
ten happens, professing christians have just religion enough 
to make them hate each other most cordially. 

We have arrived, in the course of our remarks, at an- 
other danger of these times — that is, partt spirit in po- 
litical matters; and the peculation, the fraud, and the rob- 
bery of the public treasury. To undertake the restora- 
tion of the patient's health, several quack doctors have 
come forward with offers of their services, for a very small 
fee each. Having no confidence in, or good opinion of 
them, and of their professional skill, we cannot advise 
their services to be accepted, even without a fee. Opiates 
in small, weak, broken doses, might lull the patient's pain 
a few moments, but we prefer to see all the bile carried 
off, by administering copious emetics and purges, before 
we undertake to raise the patient to his feet by the ex- 
hibition of strengthening medicines. Laying aside the 
figure: the removal of the seat of the national govern- 
ment into the West, would merely act as an opiate for a 
short time. The same families, whose worthless sons and 
relatives are now sent out into the West to be receivei's 
of the public monies, for the purpose of stealing them, 
would follow the seat of government to Cincinnati, Louis- 
ville, or St. Louis, or to any other point or place where it 
would be located. Just as certain as it is, that all the 
carrion crows and turkey buzzards will follow after a dead 
carcass that is drawn off to a distance from the spot where 
the animal died, just so certain is it, that all the broken 
down, wortless, old families, that now furnish the natiqn 



108 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

with office-seekers and office-holders, would remove with 
it, or soon after its removal, be the seat of government lo- 
cated where it may. Remove it to Cincinnati, and all 
the political carrion crows and turkey buzzards of the 
East, with all their young ones, would fly after it, and 
build their nests under the eaves of the Treasury located 
in Ohio. We are now, comparatively speaking, an honest, 
simple, plain, republican people; but, locate the seat of 
the national government in Cincinnati, and all the vices, 
wickedness, and depravity of the East would be trans- 
ferred to the West. Our youth would be corrupted, and 
we in the West should be disgraced by having officers 
created at home, here, to be sent from Cincinnati as col- 
lectors of the public monies at Boston, New York, Phila- 
delphia, and Baltimore, who would rob the public of every 
dollar which they collected, unless we sent an army along 
with them to prevent it. We say, no — let us first so 
educate one whole generation, that no man would be pla- 
ced by them in office, unless he was too honest to covet 
what did not belong to him. The same advocates of a 
removal of the seat of government tell us, "that by pas- 
sing severe laws against public defaulters, our public 
monies would be secured and safely kept." Thus, by 
enacting two laws, they tell us, "all will be well with 
us." We say, no. As to laws, we have two very old 
laws, and never repealed either, which, if obeyed, would 
furnish all the laws which we desire. The first act says, 
"Thou shalt not steal;" and the other act says, "Thou 
shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, his ox or his ass, nor 
any thing that is thy neighbor's." We wish to train up a 
generation who would scorn to steal, or even to covet, 
what did not belong to them; nor stoop to any meanness, 
fraud, or dissimulation to accomplish their wicked ends. 
To ask for the passage of any additional laws for the pun- 
ishment of theft, presupposes the appointment of thieves 
to office, and that is the very thing which we wish to 
avoid, by putting men in office who will not steal. This 
is our remedy, and every other one would be unavailing 
— a mere opiate at best, and would not effect a cure for 
what may be not inaptly called "A Raging Epidemic." 
"A right education," in the language of Alex. Campbell, 



ESSAT ON EDUCATION. 109 

"not only prevents a great deal of" moral evil, but it creates 
a vast deal of real good. It not only prevents the com- 
mission of vice and crime, but it promotes the cause of 
virtue, morality, and religion. It saves all the expense 
of punishing crimes, and, were all our people well edu- 
cated, moral, and truly religious, we might dispense with 
our penitentiary, our jails, our quarrelsome lawsuits, our 
dungeons, our gallows, and even the locks, bars, and bolts, 
to protect our property, now on our doors. All the 
money now raised by heavy taxes to pay for the punish- 
ment of felons, would not be needed for such a purpose, 
and might be either retained in honest men's pockets, or 
be poured out into and flow in the streams of national im- 
provement and prosperity." At all events, we need not 
wish for a change in the location of the seat of the na- 
tional government very soon, because we are not prepa- 
red for its location among us, until we have reared up 
and educated a generation so wise, so good, and virtu- 
ous, that they would not be corrupted by the vices of 
those who certainly would follow it. But, while we are 
preparing a generation to receive what is their patrimony, 
and will fall to them, as a matter of course, within a few 
years, if the tide of emigration continues of such worth- 
less officers from the East, it will be our duty in the West 
to place men in power at Washington, who will cease to 
send any one across the mountains with a commission in 
his pocket, authorising him to govern a people who. it 
seems, are deemed unworthy of self-government; or, if 
we must submit to such a degradation, let only honest, 
capable, and faithful men be sent out from the East into 
the West, and not plunderers of the public money. These 
are our remedies. 

We proceed to consider another danger to our peace, 
our repose, and even to the continuance and permanency 
of our republican institutions, and, indeed, of all freedom 
of thought, word, or action: We allude to mobs, riots, loss 
of property, and destruction of human life, by riotous and 
unlawful assemblages of the people. We are an exci- 
table people, easily roused into action. It were madness 
to close our eyes on the fact, and folly and useless to 
deny it. There was an insurrection in Massachusetts, 



110 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

fifty years ago, called "Shay's insurrection;" two insur- 
rections in Pennsylvania, the first in Washington's pre- 
sidency — called "the whiskey insurrection," and a second 
rebellion, in the elder Adams's day, called "the hot water 
insurrection." There have been two mobs in Baltimore, 
two in Philadelphia, and one in the city of New York. 
Flour became scarce and dear in the last-named city; so, 
to increase its quantity, and reduce its price, a mob wisely 
destroyed the most of it on hand! There was a mob or 
two at Vicksburgh, who administered the halter and the 
gallows to a number of gamblers, black-legs, and scoun- 
drels. At Cincinnati, there was a mob who destroyed a 
piinting-press, to punish it for printing some abolition 
papers. No lives were lost, nor was any person injured 
by the assemblage. This is the first and the last mob in 
Ohio. But, at Alton, in Illinois, two persons were killed 
aod a press destroyed, by a mob. In South Carolina there 
was one mob w^ho undertook to protect the mail by de- 
stroying its contents. In the same state, the great Nul- 
lifier threatened to dissolve the Union, and his servile 
tools went so far as to raise a separate flag, with only one 
little star on it. The Nullifier got into the United States 
Senate, and the flag was folded up and laid aside as use- 
less. The author of the threatened rebellion rode peace- 
fully along on his faithful hobby-horse, until it carried him 
to the opened door of the Senate-chamber, when it threw 
its rider slick over the horse's head into the Senate, and 
then lay down and breathed its last breath. We mention 
these things, merely for the purpose of showing our read- 
ers, that we, Americans, are a very excitable people, and 
easily moved by designing men, especially political de- 
magogues. 

If these things have been done \yhile we are so few in 
number, in a country where we have full employment/or 
aUioho will labo); what shall we not do, when our numbers 
have increased to three hundred millions, in a country so 
thickly settled, that millions must be unemployed, idle, 
and so may become worthless, and ready to engage in any 
wickedness? 

Let us look over our unsettled territory, and try to as- 
certain how many people will inhabit it within one cen- 



1 



KSSAT ON EDUCATION. Ill 

tury to come. Wisconsin Territory contains eighty thou- 
sand square miles; or, it is twice as large as the state of 
Ohio, and it must become a state very soon. Iowa Ter- 
ritory will contain sixty thousand square miles of the 
most beautiful and fertile territory on the whole surface 
of the earth. This territory is populous enough even now 
for a state, and will be one forthwith. Above it, oil the 
north, is territory enough for a large state, and will be 
one soon. On the Yellowstone, along its valley eleven 
hundred miles in length, from latitude 40 deg. north, to 
latitude 50 deg. north (our northern boundary,) we have 
territory enough, and more than enough, for four large 
states, which, from their elevated position, pure air, pure 
water, healthful climate, and most fertile soil along the 
Yellowstone River, and its numerous beautiful, and high- 
ly valuable tributaries, must become the largest, and fi- 
nally they will be amongst the most populous states in 
this'Union. Seven new states, without a single slave in 
them, are yet to be added to the confederacy within fifty 
years. East of the Rocky Mountains, at their Eastern 
base, and adjoining it, there is a strip of well-watered, 
well- timbered" countr}', whose soil yields to few parts of 
the Union in fertility. It is one hundred miles in width 
from East to West, and extending from the heads of the 
Yellowstone River to Texas. Back of and adjoining Mis- 
souri, Arkansaw, and Louisiana, is another strip of land, 
well timbered, well- watered, and of good soil, more than 
one hundred miles in width from East to West, and ex- 
tending from the Missouri River to Texas. Betwen these 
strips of land, back of the three states now in existence, 
and the country adjoining the Rocky Mountains, there is 
one vast prairie, which, being divided longitudinally in its 
centre, and extending from the Missouri River to Texas, 
and running a line of latitude between the equal portions 
of latitude of this vast country, will give us four new, 
large, and eventually populous and powerful states. Flo- 
rida will become a state very soon. So we see, that 
twelve new states, and those the very largest in all the 
confederecy, must be added to this Union— say, at the 
farthest, within fifty years. 

We say nothing of the Indians now in the country in 



112 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

question, because the government, its agents, our army, 
and our whiskey, aided by the small-pox and other dis- 
eases, will kill every one of them within twenty years 
years from this time. 

Twelve new states, whose contents of surface are equal 
to all the rest of the Union, are to be added to the confe- 
deracy within fifty years! We say nothing of the crowd- 
ed state of our population at that period, in the now states, 
eight millions of them, at least will dwell in Ohio alone; 
nor of the deterioration of morals by the removal of the 
seat of ths national government into the West; but, taking 
our people as they are, so easily excited into mobs, un- 
less we arise in a mass, as instructors of youth, and move 
forward with zeal, energy, and industry, will not some 
Cromwell, some Ccesar, or some Bonaparte, seize the reins 
of government, at the head of miHions of soldiers, and 
sweep away all our institutions as so many spiders' webs, 
and rule this mighty nation with a rod of iron? We have 
said nothing of our territory west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains, calculated for eight large, populous, powerful, and 
mercantile states, because our government has so far aban- 
doned its claim on it, as to permit Great Britain, under 
the specious name of a company, to occupy it in peace- 
ful possession more than ten years! It is intended by 
England to occupy that vast and important country, so as 
to give them the entire command of the Pacific Ocean, 
its islands, and commerce. This tameness, submission, 
and subserviency to England, as to that vast and most 
important portion of our territory, will not always last, 
on our part, because the time may come, when the young 
Lion of the West, as soon as he gets his growth, may 
arise in his wrath, and shake oflf the company's go- 
vernment from our territory, as easily as he now does the 
dew-drops from his mane. It is useless to close our eyes 
on the future, and it may do harm. This nation will 
spread and extend itself, either as one nation; or, it will 
nominally be divided into separate states, progressing, un- 
til it occupies all North America, and covers the Pacific 
with our ships of commerce and of war. These people 
will all speak our language, and copy our institutions of 
all sorts. This is the last, and it will, one day, be the 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. H3 

greatest, most numerous, most wealthy, and most power- 
ful empire that now exists, ever did, or ever will exist on 
the globe. To its physical, military, naval, and political 
greatness and power, shall it become as great in moral 
goodness, force, and power? What a sublime spectacle, 
in that case, would mankind behold; a nation, consisting 
of five hundred millions of people, governing the whole 
world in peace, doing justice, loving mercy, fearing God, 
spreading the benign principles of the gospel, the lights of 
science and literature over the whole world! Yes, that 
day shall come, unless, by our own madness and folly we 
destroy ourselves by abusing all the gifts of God to us, 
by neglecting the proper education of our youth. Be it, 
then, our care, as it is our duty, to so educate every ge- 
neration as it comes forward on the stage of human af- 
fairs, that there always shall be a race of men who will 
stand up between the living and the dead, of successive 
generations, as witnesses for the truth, and who will edu- 
cate the youth of each successive generation so thoroughly, 
and so imbue them with the love of our republican insti- 
tutions and with the pure principles of Christianity, that 
our institutions may be handed down to our posterity, 
until time shall be no longer. 

This wide-spread Western Valley is the largest one on 
the globe, and it is the most fertile, the best watered one, 
and its rivers are the longest, the best adapted to naviga- 
tion, and they are so gentle, yet so resistless in their mo- 
tion, that they resemble the foot of time in his motion. 
See our vast lakes in the interior, spread out before us 
like so many seas, tempting us to industry, to enterprize, 
and to the acquisition of wealth. Their waters are stored 
with fishes, and they contain many islands. These inland 
seas are surrounded now by forests, and they are refresh- 
ed and kept full by rivers. Millions of men can dwell on 
these great deeps, and make them their home. See our 
mountains. The AUeghanies bound this Valley on the 
East, and the Rocky Mountains bound its Western side. 
The elevation of the former may be set down at three or 
four thousand feet in height, while we estimate the height 
of the latter at fifteen thousand feet, that is, its loftiest 

15 



114 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

peaks, covered in most places with everlasting snows; 
intersected by wide-spread, deep, long valleys, in which 
rivers of pure, cool waters flow. Between these moun- 
tains, parallel with the Alleghanies, and occupying just 
about as much space as these mountains do, is a region 
containing the richest lead mines in the world. St. Louis 
is near the centre of this region of lead ore. This mine- 
ral is so abundant and rich, that it will last for ever, for 
all the world. And we have iron ore, and salt water, and 
coal enough, to last for evei'. And the soil of this great 
Valley is generally so rich, and so fertile, that this Missis- 
sippi Valley may be made so productive of meat and 
bread, that it could and would furnish enough of all the 
necessaries of life to support five hundred millions of 
people. With such vast resources of natural wealth, let 
us see what men inhabit this Valley. The people have 
recently located themselves in it, and they mostly consist 
of young, vigorous, active, enterprising people. They 
came from the old states, to settle in the new ones, and 
make fortunes for themselves and their children. One 
half million of them came here from Europe, but they, 
too, are young, robust, active, and vigorous. We here 
see an unnatural state of things, — youth without age, en- 
terprise without sloth, vigor without decrepitude; so that 
the whole mass of the people are such a compound as 
never was found any where else on the globe; and thus 
far their successful career in intei'nal improvements in 
peace, and their splendid victories in war, know no par- 
allels in the history of man. Such is now this compound- 
ed mass of mental activity and bodily vigor; and such will 
it continue to be for ages to come. The youthful, the en- 
terprising and vigorous, will continue to press forward 
into this vast valley for ages yet. To get rid of serving 
in the standing armies of Germany, the young men of 
those states will come here, and their youthful sweet- 
hearts will come with them, and fill up this vast valley 
with millions on millions of vigorous, active, and indus- 
trious people. With these facts before us, what is our 
duly? Shall all these millions of people, so young, so 
plastic, be moulded into our mass, and become good, use- 
ful citizens? or, shall they be neglected, and be suffered 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 116 

to grow up in ignorance of our laws, our institutions, and 
of our God and theirs? We say, no; we must do as we 
are doing in Cincinnati — we must educate them, and make 
them useful citizens. 

The Germans, by thousands, and hundreds of thousands, 
are emigrating from their native country to this valley. 
Who are these Germans? Are they the same people 
whose ancestors invented the clock, the watch, the print- 
ing press, and printing on stone? Are they the same 
people who practice vocal music from their earliest years? 
Were their ancestors the sturdy authors of all the civil 
and religious liberty now in the world? Was Martin 
Luther a German monk? Do our Germans belong to a 
people whose inventions and investigations have done 
more for the human race than the inventions and investi- 
gations of all other people in the world? Yes; our emi- 
grating Germans belong to a people whose deep and va- 
ried learning, whose inventions and investigations, whose 
early defence of civil and religious liberty have reared for 
them imperishable monuments of renown and glory. 
Were the science and literature originating with all other 
nations, dashed out of existence in a moment, enough of 
German origin would remain in existence to illuminate 
the world, and place us where we are at this day. And, 
this people so gifted, excelling all othei's in their inventive 
genius, their profound researches in history, music, paint- 
ing, printing, and every other art and science, are emi^ 
grating from their native homes, and settling down here 
among us. And the emigration is almost wholly confined 
to the youth of both sexes. To stop the progress of this 
mighty host of emigrants, or turn its current into some 
other channel, is beyond our power, and so we must make 
the best use of it, by so educating the whole mighty mass 
of emigrants, that they may become a blessing, not a curse 
to us. At Cincinnati, there was recently a large school, 
containing from two hundred and thirty to three hundred 
scholars daily ; it was kept by Mr. Salomon and his as- 
sistants, for German emigrants' children of both sexes. 
Great exertions have been made, and are making, to edu- 
cate these German children. This school was supported 
wholly by benevolent individuals. The children made 



lie iSSAT ON EDUCATION. 

rapid progress in learning. In all the public free schools 
in that city, the Gernian children are taught without cost- 
ing their parents anything. These pupils are as active, 
as docile, and as easy to learn, as any children in our 
schools. They are as ambitious of eminence and dis- 
tinction, as any other children can be. Their feelings are 
as tender, and they are as sensitive as any children need 
be. Would it not have been better for the people of 
Pennsylvania to have treated all their German and Irish 
children, when they first landed on their soil, as our people 
are treating our emigrants' children in this respect? Shall 
we meet what might be an evil, in such a way as to turn 
it into a great blessing? Then we must, every where, do 
as they are doing in Cincinnati — educate every German 
child and youth within our reach. Of the greatest num- 
ber of these emigrants, it may be affirmed, that German 
steadiness, patience, perseverance, and energy prevail 
among them, and they all love music. Many of them 
have a taste for military life. They, too, generally pos- 
sess fidelity, sincerity, and industry. Their bodily powers 
are vigorous, and their frames are robust, which qualify 
them for hard labor. Their only national fault is avarice, 
but generally they do not descend to criminal pursuits to 
obtain money. They love to smoke, and they are fond of 
beer and wine, but rarely drink to excess. These are 
the Germans now emigrating to this great Western Val- 
ley. Properly educated, they make the very best citizens 
in the Union; otherwise, they will be as bad as any other 
uneducated people are. What is to be done with them, 
and for them, by us? We must educate and instruct 
them forthwith. Teach them, as they always have been 
taught, vocal and instrumental music, the Lord's prayer, 
and their catechism. Assist them to build churches, and 
to support their clergymen ; imbue them with the love of 
our republican institutions, and prepare them to sustain 
these institutions in all future times. 

Of the next most numerous class of emigrants, who are 
leaving Europe for this valley, they are Irish people; but 
they easily fall into our mass and amalgamate with it. 
The next in number are, just now, English people of the 
better sort, too. They are agriculturists and gardeners, 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 117 

manufacturers and mechanics. They are generally sober, 
industrious, well-educated, moral citizens, and they are, 
on the whole, about the very best emigrants now coming 
here. Many of them have property enough to begin 
with, and they soon acquire a competency, and sometimes 
wealth. Of the Scotch, we may make the same remarks 
that we have applied to the English people. They are 
welcomed here by all good citizens of the West. As to 
the youth of New England, New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, as soon as 
they get old enough, they will naturally seek their for- 
tunes in the delightful regions of the West. If they are 
industrious, moral, vigorous, and good, they will settle 
down in the Western states; but if they are not so, Texas 
will be their home. And there let them go. Such is 
this vast country, and such are the people who are now 
settling in it, superadded to our natural increase. Settled 
by young people, who generally marry young, it is easy 
for us to see that our whole country which is occupied by 
us, is filled up with children and youths. Hence the ne- 
cessity of great and uncommon exertions by us to educate 
the rising generation. This unnatural and uncommon 
state of things, calls on us for corresponding exertions, to 
meet the pressing emergency. If that be great, and de- 
mand immediate attention, we must instantly arise, in 
our might, and go to work, and follow up our exertions, 
until we have made ample provision for the education of 
every child that is born or comes to live among us. "We 
must go out into the highways and hedges, and compel 
them to come into" our schools and seminaries of learn- 
ing, so that they may all be full. Instead of repining at 

our lot, we should rejoice and be grateful for it to God. 

No man in his sober senses will dispute the proposition 
which we lay down — that the intellect of their people, is 
the most valuable portion of any nation's inheritance; be- 
cause, of what value would our fossil coal be, unless we 
possessed the knowledge, skill, and industry, to enable us 
to use it in our fire-places, our manufactories, stores, 
shops, and offices? So of our lead and iron ores, unless 
we learn how to produce lead and iron from them, they 
will be useless to us. Of what value to us would be all 



118 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

our salt waters, deep in the earth, unless we knew how 
to bore into the earth and bring them up to the surface, 
pour them into our salt-pans, and produce salt from them 
by evaporation? So of our forests, our hills, and dales, 
our vast prairies and plains, unless we improve, use, and 
cultivate them skilfully, their worth would be trifling, in- 
deed, to us. Of what value to us would be our vast lakes, 
and our long, placid, deep rivers, unless we possessed the 
genius, skill, industry, enterprise, and energy to enable us 
to navigate them? And, unless we possess the science 
and skill, industry, wisdom, and patriotism which shall 
lead us to make a proper use of all our natui'al, political, 
and moral advantages, of what use to us, and to our pos- 
terity, will be our wide-spread, vast, and fertile domain, 
our balmy air, our delicious climate, our great and in- 
■ creasing number of people? The science and skill, courage 
and patriotism, enterprise, industry, and energy, intelli- 
gence and virtue, of any people, are the chief glories of 
those who possess them. Shall we add all these chief 
glories to our vast lakes and long rivers; our hills filled 
with coal, iron, or lead ore; our vast plains and boundless 
prairies; our lofty mountains and low vales? In addition 
to so vast a domain, shall we leave all this virtue, intelli- 
gence, and patriotism, and all our benevolent, social, lite- 
rary, and free institutions, to our posterity as their inheri- 
tance? Of the value of such an inheritance what tongue 
can tell us? What mathematician can calculate its value? 
What imagination can conceive its value? None. It is 
invaluable. No tongue can tell us, no figures can calcu- 
late, and no imagination can conceive its value. All 
North America, the islands of the Pacific — the world, are 
spread out before us, to fill up with people, to subdue, to 
cultivate, occupy, and enjoy forever; in peace, without a 
rival in morals, in free institutions, in knowledge, num- 
bers, wealth, or power. Patriots, philanthropists, chris- 
tians, philosophers, republicans, men of learning, of ge- 
nius, orators, poets, and statesmen, look on this vast field, 
now ready for the harvest! Arise, and come forth with 
your sickles, and assist us to gather it into our garners. 
Yes, now, let every man and woman in all the land arise, 
in one great and mighty host, and aid us in the high and 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 119 

ho'y work of education. Teach our youth to fear God 
and keep his commandments — to be honest, industrious, 
kind, benevolent, just, and good. To respect the laws, 
and place in authority honest, capable, and faithful men. 
To obey those who are in authority over them— their 
parents, teachers, the officers of justice and the ministers 
of religion: teach them to govern themselves, and let their 
love of power be, a power over themselves, over their 
passions, over their inner man. Without exercising such 
a power constantly, they can neither be happy themselves 
nor useful to others. Let us, one and all, forthwith, ac- 
quire and always exercise such a power as this. Could 
such an education, physical, mental, and moral, as we 
have merely hinted at in this essay, be afforded to every 
citizen of this great republic, we should live in a new 
world. By far the greatest portion of all the suffering of 
mankind, physical, mental, and moral, flows from that poi- 
sonous fountain the uneducated, wicked, human heart. 
Purified by education and the grace of God, its streams 
would be rendered healthful, and flow in ten thousand 
brooks, rivulets, and rills, irrigating, refreshing, and adorn- 
ing the whole field of human life. It would for ever re- 
main the sworn duty of the legislative General Assemblies 
of all the states north-west of the Ohio river, "to provide 
the means of instruction, and promote the cause of vir- 
tue, morality, and religion," because all the constitutions 
of these states expressly so declare. Were our entire 
community so educated, what a community should we 
be, compared with ours now, or with any other on the 
globe ! Its wealth, its fame, its healthfulness, its happi- 
ness, and moral influence, would attract to it the esteem, 
admiration, and love of the whole world. 

We have expressly called on our ministers of religion 
to aid us in this holy work, and no day is too sacred for 
its introduction into their desks. As we are not of the 
number of those who would confine religious instruction 
to the Lord's day, and keep religion up in the pulpit to be 
looked at, and worshipped as an idol on Sunday only, as 
a Hindoo would do; so we would never exclude the sub- 
ject of education from the pulpit, on any day of the week. 
Our Saviour had two objects in view in coming into the 



120 ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 

World — firstly, he came to make an atonement for the sins 
of mankind, by his sufferings and death. Secondly, he 
came to teach mankind the way of life and salvation. In 
this latter character — that of a Teacher, our ministers are 
his successors in office, and it is their duty, to officiate 
constantly as instructors — and that is their whole duty. 

The same narrow-minded men, who would exclude 
education as a subject of discourse from the sacred desk, 
and confine it to week-days, and to some school-room, 
would object to any man's writing on religious subjects, 
unless he is a clergyman. We are of a difterent opinion 
on this whole matter. We believe that all men, of every 
profession and occupation in life, may, with propriety, 
write on religious subjects, and that, if they can, by their 
MTitings or speeches, throw any useful lights on religion, 
education, or moi'als, they have not only the right, under 
our free form of government, but it is their duty to place 
their candles where all in the house may see their light. 
We belong neither to the sect of the Pharisees, nor that 
of the Sadducees. But, there are errors abroad in this 
country, which deserve to he combatted and put down. 
The fear of our clergymen and the love of demagogues, 
are equally erroneous. Let us look at these errors for a 
few moments, and duly consider and weigh, and then 
stamp their weight on the boxes which contain them. 
Some persons appear to entertain a dread of this influ- 
ence of the clergymen on our political affairs; and this 
feeling seems to pervade many parts of our country. Im- 
bued with this feeling, many seem anxious to charge our 
present ministers of religion with all the faults, vices, and 
crimes of their predecessors even in the dark ages! We 
know better than to fear any evil from their influence. 
No; our danger lies in a very different quarter. We 
need not fear the ministers of religion; but we may fear, 
and we do fear, the influence of political demagogues on 
our very excitable people. We arrive at this conclusion, 
whether we look back on the past, or on the present state 
of things. The future appears as if such creatures will 
become more and more not less dangerous to our peace 
and repose as a nation. 

Although our present Absaloms may have made some 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 121 

improvements, for which they may claim a patent right, 
yet, on the whole, they are mere copiers of the conduct 
of the original inventer — Absalom of old times. He could 
stand, all day long, by the principal gate of the city, ta- 
king every Israelite by the hand who had visited his father 
the king, and was going home, disappointed and dissatis- 
fied with the administration of the general government. 
Yes, he could warmly and cordially press every such 
man's hard hand, kiss him, and with a deep sigh coming 
from the heart, and a big tear in his eye, regret that he, 
Absalom, were not made a judge in Israel, and so be in a 
condition to extend his patronage to his dear friend, whose 
hard case he so deeply commisserated. He procured 
and prepared horses and chariots, accompanied by fifty 
men to run before him as outriders; and, in this style of 
living, he moved about the countiy, flattering and de- 
ceiving the people. However, he never went so far, we 
suspect, as to have great public dinners given to him by 
his friends on his tours through the country. Nor, after 
having ate a dinner consisting of the daintiest viands, 
diluted with the most sparkling wines, did he, instead of 
thanking God for his bounty, arise, and in long-winded 
speeches, abuse all his enemies, and praise all the dema- 
gogues who were friendly to his ambitious projects. 
These dinners and speeches are an improvement on Ab- 
salom's old patent right, and they are the only ones made 
since his day worth naming. After having stolen the 
hearts of the people, this same Absalom murdered his own 
brother, sought to take the life of his own father, and 
place himself on his father's throne. He violated his fa- 
ther's nuptial bed, and committed all sorts of enormities 
in order to get into office. He did all these things (if he 
could be believed,) out of love for the people — the dear 
people. Such a man was Absalom, and such as he was 
of old, would not a few of our table orators become had 
they the means of becoming such demagogues as he was? 
Let us so educate our whole people, that no such crea- 
ture can steal away their hearts and lead them to destruc- 
tion. In Europe, they may fear military despots, but, in 
^Qur country, we may fear political demagogues and |)artv 

16 



122 ESSAT ON EDUCATIOI^. 

strife. Our parties may become so embittered towards 
each other, that our whole land may be covered with 
misery by enacting bad laws, or by badly and partially 
executing even good laws. These are our dangers which 
must be met and prevented by universal education. A 
great and splendid university at the seat of the national 
government, surrounded by the vices of a corrupt court, 
would only corrupt the whole mass of our youth; where- 
as, the pure morals of the fireside, of the country school, 
the county academy, and the Sunday school, daily and 
weekly assembling at the sound of the church-going bell, 
would tend to produce, and would produce, the happiest 
effects from age to age — for ever. Our government was 
erected for the benefit of all the people, and it is our duty 
to so educate all the people, that they may all make use- 
ful citizens. As to the objection that the poorer classes 
have more children than they can educate, and that the 
rich must be taxed to educate the children of the poor; 
we believe, that, in point of expense to the rich, it alwaj^s 
has, and always will, cost them more money to educate 
even one man or woman to serve the devil, than it will 
to educate one hundred men or women to serve God and 
their country. No problem in Euclid can be more cleai'ly 
demonstrated than our proposition — and so we dismiss it 
with a "quod erat demonstrandum," annexed to it. 

Could such an education as we advocate be extended to 
every citizen of this republic, should a war ever occur be- 
tween us and all the monarchs in the world, what an army 
should we be able to send into the field! what navies of 
ours would cover the seas! And these armies and navies 
would fight our battles, and defend our liberties, and hand 
down to our posterity such renown and glory, as the his- 
tory of no other people records. At the bar, in the halls 
of legislation, in the pulpit, in the professor's chair, and 
in the popular assembly, what bursts of eloquence would 
convince the judgment, vivify and move along with them 
the human passions and the human heart! what painters, 
statuai'ies, musicians, mechanics, merchants, teachers, far- 
mers, soldiers, and sailors should we possess! what states- 
men, authors, naturalists, and profound, original, and deep 
thinkers would this nation produce ! Made up, as we are 
in the West, of the youthful vigor of the world, all thrown 



ESSAY ON EDUCATION. 123 

into one mass, living undei- such a free form of govern- 
ment, and occupying as we do, so large a portion of the 
very best part of our globe, it is not enough for us to 
boast of what we have ah^eady done, though it by far ex- 
ceeds all that any other people ever achieved in any 
similar period of time, as that during which we have lived 
in the West. But, we repeat it over and over again, that 
the richest portion of our estate lies in the intellect of our 
people. Shall this portion of our inheritance become a 
paradise, or i-emain a waste? Let us all arise, clear, and 
cultivate this vast field, and fence it; surrounding it with 
a durable, strong wall, high as heaven; so that we may 
forthwith begin to reap an abundant crop of moral health- 
fulness and social happiness. Our vast region would mo- 
rally resemble a tropical one, producing fruits and flowers 
at the same time on every tree. Looking down the long 
vista of future ages, on the millions, and millions of millions 
of human beings, who will yet dwell in this vast Western 
Valley, from age to age for ever! Who can estimate the 
vast amount of physical, mental, and moral evil to be pre- 
vented; and the vast amount of positive physical, mental, 
and moral happiness to be conferred by education on the 
myriads of human beings who are to come after us? Who 
can compensate us for neglecting, even for a day, to do 
our duty towards the rising generation? Let us all ai'ise 
NOW, and lay a foundation broad, deep, and high, building 
on it the means of instruction, which shall eventually, like 
a crucible, melt down the whole mass of our citizens into 
one lump of liquid, living, active, moving virtue and in- 
telligence. Finally, 

Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, relatives, 
friends and neighbors, ministers of religion, doctors of law 
and doctors of medicine, professional teachers, rulers and 
ruled, and every man and woman in all the land — arise, 
and go forth, aiding us in the high and holy work of edu- 
cation: Save our free form of government from destruc- 
tion, and immortal souls from ruin: rouse into activity 
every power of your bodies and every faculty of your 
souls, and apply them vigorously in your endeavors to dif- 
fuse knowledge, and increase the physical, mental, social, 
and political happiness of mankind. 



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